Gray Stones
by Magical Girl Pretty Sammy-Chan
Summary: (Slight AU)After losing to Hikaru, Akira goes into slump. But to Akira, Go is still his life, his world, and nothing can replace it. But when a young, rich girl challenges Akira to a very strange game of Go, can something replace that passion?
1. Gray Stones

A/N's: Okay, here we go: A Hikaru No Go Story – AkiraxOC

NOTE: This takes place AFTER Hikaru beats Akira for the second time in the manga.

* * *

Summary: Hikaru has defeated Akira in a match when Akira was assured of his victory and Akira goes into a slump. But to Akira, Go is still his life, his world, and nothing can replace it. But when a young, rich girl challenges Akira to a very strange game of Go, could something replace that passion for the game? AkiraxOC, slight HikaruxAkari.

* * *

"Oh, hello Akira-sensei!"

"Oh…hello Namba-san…"

"Could you play a teaching game with me? I want to try out that new trick you taught me," the young woman at the other end of the Go table in the parlor smiled and waved to Akira. Akira sighed heavily, but forced a smile on his otherwise sullen looking face.

"Sure," he sat down and pushed the black stones to the girl, "How much of a handicap do you want?"

"Oh…umm…how about 7 stones or so?"

"That sounds fine," he sighed again as she put down her stones. His eyes darted across the board, thinking about how he could teach her more about the game.

But at the end of the game, Akira had murdered her, and she looked almost hurt at the fact that Akira had been so hard on her, "I resign…" she told him and gathered up the stones, "Wow Akira, you're really on fire today, of course you're always on fire…" she put the stones away and got up. She waved to him slightly, "Bye…"

As she walked out of the parlor, Akira sighed and gathered up his stones as well. The reason that he had been so harsh on her was because he hadn't even been focusing on what he was doing. All he had been doing was relying on his instincts to win the game and to claim as much territory as he could. He hadn't been able to play for days.

Ever since Hikaru Shindo had beaten him in their last match, Akira had been off his game. Not that he had been playing weakly. On the contrary, his moves were more mechanical and better than ever. But he hadn't been able to find any passion, any feeling in his moves, no thought to what he was doing. Just a solid, rigid, cold want to be the best; to win.

He felt like Hikaru had left him behind…completely running ahead in his skills and leaving Akira in the dust. Like Akira was stuck at a road block and Hikaru kept sprinting along with his skills.

All he could do was want to win.

* * *

"I resign," Akira bowed his head to his father as their game concluded. It had lasted only around 10 minutes before Akira found several mistakes in his game and revealed the fact that he couldn't win.

"Akira…" his father sighed, "You could have attacked at a number of places you neglected…you're off."

"I understand Father," Akira bowed his head, still not showing his blank eyes. His robotic response echoed through his ears.

"This is because of Hikaru Shindo no doubt…" Akira's head shot up like a bomb as Hikaru's name was mentioned by his solemn father. His father's worn, nimble hands carefully collected the stones, not focusing on his son, but the board and the small glass pieces. Akira could only nod and bite his lip in response. "Well…the only way to end a slump because of a loss is to beat the person that beat you in the first place."

"I know that father," Akira sighed, "But…but…"

"You don't know if you can?" Akira's father asked and Akira was forced to nod. "Son, if you don't have the courage to face Shindo now…you'll never be able to defeat him…"

"I understand…father…" Akira nodded to his father and bowed, "Thank you for the game, I think I'll do my homework now…"

* * *

"Akira-sensei!" Akira's head looked up from his book bag to see his mail man, Sokamoto-san waving at him, "Are we still on for that teaching game on Saturday?"

"Hrrmm…" Akira nodded, "Why do you ask?"

"Well you got a letter," he smirked and handed Akira the letter, "From a "Hikaru Shindo"… Got a hot date with the little lady?" Akira blushed.

"Sokamoto-san…Hikaru is a boy in my acquaintance," Akira took the letter, his hand shaking.

"Ooops, my bad," he waved his hand to Akira as he got back into his truck, "Have a nice day at school Akira!"

"Thank you…" Akira mumbled, looking at the letter, his hand still shaking slightly. He turned the letter around and fumbled when opening it. He took out the folded paper and carefully opened. The message inside made Akira's eyes bulge and made his body sweat.

_Akira –_

_I know that you're off since you lost our last game._ _Get some dignity man! Jeez! So what if you suck at Go? Get a life! _

_If you really want to have a rematch, meet me at the Go Parlor on Ryuuzaki Street. I'll play you there… Be there on Saturday at noon. _

_Don't chicken out._

_Hikaru_

Akira's fist enclosed on the letter, crumpling it. "Damn him…humiliating me like that!" He stuffed the letter into his pocket. "I'll be there all right." He looked at the note, "I'll have to tell Sokamoto-san that I'll be canceling after all…"

* * *

Akira sighed as he stepped out his father's car and looked at the Go Parlor standing smack dab in front of him as if to say, "Wanna get out of a slump? Come here!" He waved to the driver nonchalantly and took a careful step toward the sliding doors.

One careful step became two, and two became four, and four became eight and finally, after what had seemed like a two hour walk, it had only been two seconds, the automatic doors flew open and Akira was ready to face his opponent. Hikaru Shindo would be defeated today…

Akira stepped into the room and saw many people, mostly adults sitting at their boards, playing games. A whole aura of tension that Akira was more than used to filled the room. He surveyed the place, looking for him…for Hikaru Shindo…

But he wasn't there.

Akira guessed he was just late. That's the type of person Hikaru was… He sighed slightly and walked over to a pretty black haired lady to check in. "Hello," he told her, "I'm here to play…"

"Okay, that'll be 500 yen for youths," she told him, waving the clipboard on the table and flipping the pages in her magazine. Akira coughed up the money from his wallet and signed his name, "Thank Mr…" she looked at the name and gasped. "You…you couldn't be! Akira Toya!"

Being a national Go celebrity had its rewards…but right now, Akira was having trouble thinking of them.

"Can I have your autograph!"

"Could you play a teaching game with me!"

"Can I take your picture!"

A mob surrounded the poor Akira and he felt he was going to puke any second now. All the players at the parlor he usually went to knew him and were used to him, but these people were all over him like a cheap suit! He tried to escape, to run out the doors, to find some way to escape the mob. But they were packed too tightly. All he could do was scream to whoever would listen, "HELP!"

"Come with me…" he felt an arm tug on his elbow and in a second he was thrust out of the Go Parlor, the mob following him. A blur of colors and images filled his eyesight and the next thing he knew, he had been thrown into the back seat of a black leather clad shiny limousine. He refocused his vision and saw that the car was already starting to drive off, the crowds of people left behind.

"Thank you so much for saving me…" he turned and caught his breath. He found that his rescuer was a girl who was about the same age as him with long flowing platinum white blonde hair. It was so light, Akira thought she was Albino until he noticed that she had bright black eyes. On the top of the girl's white head was a black rimmed hat. Akira noticed that she wore a very expensive looking skirt and tank top, both white and long white boots with black soles. A black leather jacket clung tightly to her torso. A white scarf completed the look, along with a white bag, of which the brand name was on the tip of Akira's tongue.

"What?" she laughed at his confused expression, "Never seen a girl wearing 500,000 yen worth of clothing before?"

"Well…um…actually no," he stumbled, "But thank you for saving me from that mob."

"No prob," she smiled and took out a drink from a cup holder. She opened up a black chest freezer and waved her hand to the drinks inside as if to ask him if he wanted one. He shook his head and she closed the cooler with a shrug. After she took a drink, making sure not to break one of her perfectly manicured nails, she smiled at him, "After all, I couldn't just leave you hanging there."

"I guess not…" Akira nodded.

"Sanami Matsu'ura," Sanami held out her hand and Akira tentatively shook it, then went back with an expression of shock plaster upon his face.

"Wha-what! You do-don't mean Matsu'ura as in…as in Gosho Matsu'ura, the CEO and billionaire! Are you Gosho Matsu'ura's daughter!"

Sanami pouted slightly, "Well that depends, are you Toya Meijin's son?"

Akira blushed, nodded, and turned away. "So that's why you're so rich…"

"It's not like you're hurting for money either," she took another sip of her soda. Silence partook the back seat, Akira refusing to look at Sanami, until Sanami finally spoke, "You play Go right?"

Akira blinked a couple of time, astonished that she didn't know, but nodded in spite of it.

"I play Go too." Akira had to conceal a sigh. Another player that was going to ask him for a game. He didn't want to beat this girl like he had beaten Namba-san, after all Sanami had saved him. "Want to play a game?"

Akira stumbled, "Bu-but we have no board or stones!"

"No prob," she smiled widely an opened up a black compartment to reveal a Go board and two buckets of stones. Akira sighed, there was no getting out of this now. "How str" he started, but was cut off.

"Hey Akira," Sanami smiled as she set up the board, "You usually play Go with white and black stones right?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well…yes…" Akira nodded.

"Have you ever played with another color stone?" she asked him.

He pondered this for a second, "Well in the fundamentals of Go, I suppose it doesn't matter what color stones you use."

"Good," she smiled as she inserted the last stubby leg into the board, "Because I use different colors in my game than white and black."

"What colors?" he asked and Sanami thrust the bowl of stones into his arms.

"Take a look," she pointed to the lid and Akira cautiously looked down at the bowl. With the utmost carefulness and caution, he meekly opened the lid.

The stones were gray…

"Well…I guess this is fine, what color are y" His eyes widened as Sanami opened her lid to reveal the same colored gray stones… "You're crazy!" he told her, "No one can play Go when their opponent is the same color!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she waved her finger at him, as if reprimanding the young Go player's actions, "This is my house and at my house," she leaned close into his face, her lips almost level with his and she whispered, "we play by my rules."

"This is ridiculous," Akira slammed the lid down on his bowl, "I'm leaving."

Khchack, chack. Every door in the limo locked from the inside and Sanami jingled the key in between her fingertips as Akira made a futile effort to get out of the car. "You can get out…" she grinned, "If you beat me."

Akira scowled at her and her 500,000 yen outfit, "Fine!" he opened his pot of stones, "Onegai Shimasu…"

"Onegai Shimasu…" she smiled, her eyebrows raised, from across the board and put a gray stone on the lower right star point. "The game has begun."

* * *

The game waged on for a few minutes, and Akira was getting more aggravated by the second. Sanami was a master at her trade, she made moves quickly, having her hand slightly cover the other pieces so Akira couldn't exactly see where she had put her piece. He could see her eyes darting back and forth across the board. He remembered that he had once been bullied into playing Go without looking at the board, but his opponents had called out their moves, and he was able to keep in the flow of the game. But Sanami gave him no such courtesy with her lightning fast moves. He placed another gray stone near one he thought was Sanami's and she smiled as she placed another gray stone to connect with one at the opposite end of the board. "And I capture seven of your stones…" she quickly took the pile of stones in her hand and Akira's eyes widened.

"Hey!" he told her, "You're bluffing! There's no way you remember all that!"

"But I do," she told him, "I remember each and every move I make. I'm a master at my game."

_She's got to be bluffing…_ He thought to himself, _Well…two can play at that game._ He defiantly threw down a stone and started to collect the stones in the middle, "How careless of you, I capture eight of your stones."

"No you don't," Sanami told him, pointing to the board, "I remember, I made this move right here, you didn't trap them at all." She pointed to the stone, and Akira remembered when she had made that move. "See?"

"I…see…sorry…" he grunted and put the stones back. The game waged on for the next few minutes and Akira just kept trying to remember Sanami's moves. But it was hard as she made choppy moves that were to be expected from a beginner.

"I pass…" Akira spoke.

"I pass too," Sanami told him, "Shall we count?"

At the end of the game, Sanami, who had counted for Akira, Akira now remembering each move as she explained it, had 58 points while Akira had gotten a total of 10. It was a pathetic slaughter. "Hmm…are you sure you're Akira Toya?" She collected the stones with a disappointed look on her face. "Cause I know Akira Toya is better than this. I'm just a beginner and you still couldn't beat me."

"I played your stupid game, can I go now!" he screamed to her, jiggling the door handle again, "That game of Go is ridiculous…"

"Nope!" She smiled, "You lost, fair and square at my game, which means that I win our bet!"

"What bet!" Akira asked, "We didn't make any bet!"

"Yes we did," she rolled her eyes, "You're just as bad at remembering stuff as you are at Go."

"Then tell me," he scowled, "what bet did we make? Refresh my memory…"

"If you won," she told him, "I would let you go…and if I won, which I did," she boasted, making Akira's ears turn pink, "Then you had to be my friend and play Gray Go with me every Saturday!"

"Please!" he screamed, "Like I'd ever hang out with a spoiled brat like you!"

CRACK!

Sanami's hand slapped hard across Akira's face and Akira felt himself rubbing his cheek. Sanami looked at her nails carelessly. "You…you slapped me…"

"And you made me chip my nails," she showed him her perfect white polish, a chip now in one finger, "How dare you! Now you'd better come and play with me!"

"I made no promise to play with you!"

"It was part of the bet!" She told him, "Don't go back on your word!"

"I made no word to you!" He insisted to her, "So I'm not going back on it! Let me out of this car right now!"

"No!" She pouted, "We're going back to my house and we're going to play more games!"

"I'm not here to play child's games!"

"Then why did you go to that Go Parlor?" she asked and Akira grimaced, "To play Hikaru Shindo?" Akira's eyes widened with fury and he turned around.

"You…"

"Yeah, I sent the note," she told him, looking slightly guilty, "So sue me…I…I just wanted to see if you could match up against me in Gray Go…that's all."

"Well obviously, I can't," he told her, "Now let me out before I waste more of my afternoon!"

"But you have to play more games with me!" She told him, tears forming in her eyes, "You lost! You have to play with me every Saturday!"

"I don't have to play anything!" he told her, scowling, "Let me out!"

"No!" She told him, pouting and finally crossing her arms and sitting in her seat, "We're going back to my house, and that's final! DRIVER!" she called and opened the limousine's window, "Drive back to the house now, will you?" She shut the window and looked back at Akira, her face in an undisguised pout. "You have to play more games!"

"No, I don't!" he told her, still jiggling at the handle of the car.

"I've got a big house!" she told him, as if urging him to come along with her, "And lots of food, and games! And a huge indoor pool!"

"I don't care how many indoor pools you have!" Akira snapped, "I'm not going!"

"Please?" Akira spun around to face the girl, and he saw her, her hands clenched, pleading with him. "Please play with me?"

Akira paused and bit his lip. He looked at her, tears now threatening to come out of her eyes and he sighed, "Fine…I'll play with you…"

"Yes!" She laughed and punched her fist into the air.

"But only once every Saturday," he told her, "Just once!"

"Uh huh!" She nodded to him, still excited that he was coming over, "C'mon, we're almost there!"

"Here we are!" Sanami laughed as the car pulled into a large circular driveway. Sanami threw open the door before the car even came to a stop and jumped out. Akira, still with a grudged look on his face, stepped out of the car with her, and gasped the minute his eyes rested on Sanami's house.

Or a mansion. More like a city! It was the biggest house Akira thought he would ever see in his life. With white brick on the outside of the huge house, it had two oak doors that looked foreboding, framed by two large glass windows that reminded Akira of a cathedral. The garden, filled with perfectly trimmed hedges and more flowers than the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Akira almost gulped in the presence of the giant place. The house looked to have at least four stories, and with many windows, all perfectly clean and spotless, Akira thought there must have been millions of rooms. But Sanami didn't stop for Akira as she bounded up the stone path and up to the door. Akira followed her, stopping occasionally to ogle at something. Finally, he reached the front door with Sanami and she smiled at him. "Welcome to my house! I've never had friends over before!"

"Let's get one thing straight Miss Matsu'ura," Akira scowled, "We are not friends."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Sanami waved her hand, "And call me Sanami! I call you Akira!" She grabbed the handle and with all her strength, pulled the door open to reveal a large marble hall. A white pearl covered carpet carpet decorated the floor, and a flight of stairs could be seen. Expensive looking paintings hung all the way down the gigantic hall, but Akira had no time to look at them as Sanami grabbed his arm and led him upstairs. "Let's go up to my room!"

"Sa-Sanami, let go!" Akira called as she dragged him up the stairs.

"Yay!" Sanami cheered, "You're calling me Sanami!" The girl continued to laugh playfully as she led Akira up two flights of stairs until they reached a white door with a sign on it that said, "Sanami's Room! KNOCK! Or else…" "Welcome to my sanctum!" she laughed and threw open the door to reveal her room. A white bed with white sheets and a white canopy filled most of it, but a black desk and bookshelf also was in the room. A computer was in the corner of the room, and Akira could see a white door that led to the bathroom. "C'mon!" she told him, finally letting go of his arm and throwing open her drawer. She rummaged around on the top shelf and took out a Go board and two bowls of stones. "Let's play!"

"I refuse to play that abomination of a game," Akira told her, "It's an insult to Go."

"Don't be mean!" Sanami told him, sitting him down on her fluffy bed, "Play just one game, then we can do what you want to do!"

"_I_ want to go home!" Akira snapped and she sighed.

"Just one game…please?" She asked, her eyes growing large. Akira looked at her, at the board, and then sighed.

"Fine…one game…"

"Yay!" Akira fell back as Sanami threw her arms around his neck and flattened him against the bed. Akira blushed and so did Sanami. She quickly got up from him, blushing furiously. "Kay!" she smiled, her face still red. "Let's play!"

"Sanami!" A knock and a call came on the door and Sanami sighed as she went to the door. She opened it, and Akira noticed a man with dark black hair and dark eyes to match looking at Sanami disapprovingly. He wore thick framed glasses and his hair was slicked back. "Sanami, what are you doing in here?"

"Oh…hey Kosuke…" Sanami sighed, "I'm just having my friend over to play."

"Sanami," Kosuke looked at Akira with an eyebrow arched, "your father doesn't approve of you having friends over…"

"I've never had any over so I don't see how he could disapprove of them," Sanami shrugged.

"Who is this…boy?" Kosuke asked, coming into the room, eyeing Akira, who then stood up and smiled.

"Akira Toya, sir," he told him, bowing. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Akira Toya?" Kosuke asked. "The famous youth Go Player?"

"I am he, sir," Akira bowed to the man once again, "I am a friend of Sanami here."

Sanami's eyes lit up for a second, then she smiled, "Yeah…he's my friend, we were just playing."

"Please," Kosuke told them both, "Keep it down. Your father is working." With that, he shut the door behind him and Sanami stuck out her tongue.

"That's Kosuke Shibahime," she told Akira, sitting back on the bed, "my father's personal secretary. I see more of Kosuke then I do of Daddy, really…"

Akira didn't comment as he opened his stone both and sighed as he saw the same Gray stones. "Onegaishimasu," he told her and she nodded.

"Onegaishimasu!" She smiled and put down the first stone…

* * *

Once again Sanami had demolished Akira in the game, taking almost every point of territory for herself. "Yay! I win again!" she cheered and Akira tried his best to look as though he didn't care.

"Well, good for you, now I'm going home." He started to count the stones to make sure that there were an equal number of them in each pot.

"Oh, don't bother with that," Sanami said, grabbing the board and emptying the stones all into her bowl. "I'll have the servants sort them later. C'mon, let's do something else fun!"

"I told you – I'm going home!"

"We can play video games in the living room! I've got lots! Or I could have our cook make us something to eat! Do you like Strawberry smoothies? I can get some for us!"

"I don't want to play video games – they're annoying and ridiculous. I don't want to eat anything – I'm full. I don't like strawberry smoothies – they're too sweet! I want to go home please!"

"I know!" Sanami smiled. "Let's go bowling downstairs!"

"Miss Matsu'ura, I'm leaving!" Akira stood up and walked toward the door. He threw it open and began to walk briskly through the hall, Sanami at his heels.

"C'mon! Don't leave! Please!" Sanami ran up to Akira, tugging at his arm as he stalked through the hallways. "C'mon!"

"I'm leaving!"

"FINE!" Sanami stopped and sat on the ground, cross legged and not looking at Akira. "But you have to come every Saturday! You promised!"

"You're acting like a child," Akira scoffed. "And what if I choose not to come?"

"You promised!" Sanami insisted.

"And if I don't?"

"You can…you don't have to come anymore…only if you beat me!"

"Huh?" Akira turned around to face her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just what it sounds like," she turned her nose upward. "You can only stop playing with me if you beat me."

Akira stared at her, glowering down upon her sitting form with an utmost look of disgust. "Fine! I'll beat you at your stupid game."

"Good! I'll show you to the door!" She smiled and stood up.

"I can find the way out myself, thank you," Akira snapped, and walked briskly through the halls, not turning back.

* * *

A/N's: Okay! The end of chapter 1, don't forget to review now! 


	2. Black Names

Gray Stones Chapter 2

I'm so glad that all of you have been reading and reviewing! (gigantic smile) Thanks to everyone for their criticism, compliments, and encouragement! I'm already ready for my next chapter, and I must say that this one is going to roxx my soxx! (Sorry for the silly spelling there.)

Anyway, thank you to the two reviewers who pointed out mechanical problems with the story, I shall do my best in the future to correct the errors! Thank you so much for helping me improve in stories about games!

P.S. I made a mistake in the first chapter. Akira is no longer in the sixth grade, he's now in the seventh grade and enrolled at Kaio. We're spinning off the part in the manga when Akira is in Kaio's Go club.

Now! Onto our second chapter!

* * *

Gray Stones – Black Names 

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see Monday," Akira sighed as he walked into school that Monday morning. "As long as I'm at school, Sanami can't bother me."

Akira had thought that he would only have to see Sanami for an hour or so every Saturday, and when Sunday came, he was almost relieved to think that he had six more days until he would have to hear, see, or be with her again.

But, such luck doesn't last long.

"Akira," his mother poked her head into Akira's room as he sat at his desk, reading. "You have a phone call."

"Thank you, mother," Akira took the phone from his mother and held it to his ear. "Akira Toya speaking, may I help you?"

"AKIRA!"

Akira yelped and pulled the phone at least a foot away from his ear. He looked at the receiver, as if knowing exactly who was on the other end. He put the phone back to his ear cautiously. "Sanami?"

"Yep! It's me! Thought you'd seen all of me, eh?" she laughed haughtily over the phone and Akira had to stifle a groan.

"How'd you get my phone number?"

"I have connections," Sanami said. "Wasn't our game yesterday so much fun?"

"What do you need now?" Akira asked sternly.

"Nothing," Sanami said, acting hurt. "I just wanted to talk to you, my bestest friend in the whole wide world!"

"Sanami, I have no time for this, I'm hanging up," Akira reached for the "Off" button on the phone, but Sanami stopped him.

"Wait! Don't hang up! Sorry I teased you!" She pleaded over the phone, and Akira sighed, feeling almost sorry for her. "Are you still there?"

"Yes…" Akira said, as if not believing it himself.

"Good!" Sanami laughed. "This morning I saw a really good movie! My butleropened up my private theaterand Igot freepopcorn and candy and a gigantic cup of soda!"

"Very nice…" Akira bit his lip, as if wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"And then I went bowling! It was SO much fun! I got three strikes! That's like, my record!"

"Great…"

"And after that, I played video games inmy personalarcade for hours and hours! I played Soul Caliber II, and I won eight rounds in a row! You know who the best character is? It's totally Ivy, not only because she's cool, but because she has that awesome sword move that-"

"Sanami!" Akira snapped. "I'm doing my homework, is this ALL you wanted to tell me?"

"No!"

"Then what?"

"Guess what I ate for dinner!"

Akira hung up.

* * *

So here he was, back at Kaio Middle School, finally away from where Sanami could reach him. As he walked through the school doors, he gave a heavy sigh of relief that there were no platinum blonde haired girls in sight. 

"I feel that today is going to be a good day," Akira smiled to himself.

"Funny! I had the same feeling!"

Akira's eyes widened as he turned slowly around to see none other then Sanami, wearing the Kaio school uniform, standing behind him. "Hey bestest buddy."

"Sanami!" Akira rasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I go here," Sanami furrowed her brow. "What? You didn't think rich girls went to school?"

"I've never seen you before," Akira narrowed his eyebrow.

"Well, I don't stand out much," Sanami shrugged. "At least I don't try to. You see, I'm different then you. Everyone just thinks I'm a rich snob, so they stay away. Half the student body, the female half, adores you to death."

"I can't believe it!" Akira slapped his hand to his forehead. "You had this planned all along!"

"And guess what?" Sanami asked, a wide grin on her face. "I got my schedule changed by Daddy! We're in the same homeroom now!"

"WHAT?"

"Now we'll _really_ be best friends!" Sanami gave Akira a huge hug around the waist, making him blush crimson and try to pry her off.

"Sanami! You'll do anything to get what you want!"

"Yeah? So?"

"You're such a brat!" Akira snarled.

"Am not!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not times infinity times a million!" Sanami stuck out her tongue at Akira. "So there!"

"That's so juvenile!" Akira shouted.

"C'mon best friend!" Sanami linked arms with Akira and shouted a little more loudly then necessary. "Let's head to class together!"

"Sanami! I need to put my books away first!"

* * *

"Does anyone have any questions on the lesson?" the teacher asked, standing in the front of the room. Akira hadn't been paying a bit of attention to the day's lesson as he had been constantly crumpling up notes from Sanami that said things like: "u r my best bud! (heart)" or "I (heart) you Akira!" or "Best friends forever!" Sanami must have already used a notebook full of paper. 

"No questions?"

"I have a question!" Sanami called out, standing up in her seat. The teacher sighed at his misfortune of having the girl in his class.

"Yes, Miss Matsu'ura?"

"Akira Toya and I are best friends!" she shouted and the entire class turned to Akira, who was blushing redder then a cherry.

"We-we are not! Sanami!"

"He knows her first name!"

"It must be true!"

"Woah, I'm so jealous of Matsu'ura!"

"Miss Matsu'ura, head to the Principle's office for disrupting my class!" the teacher pointed sternly out the door.

"I don't want to!" Sanami pouted, throwing herself in her chair. "I'll go only if Akira goes with me!"

"Miss Matsu'ura, please act your age."

"I'm only thirteen! I should have fun while I'm young!"

"Miss Matsu'ura!"

"I'll go with her, sensei," Akira stood up, his brow furrowed in frustration. "C'mon Sanami." He grabbed her arm and led her out the door, the entire class watching them go.

"What in the world were you doing?" Akira asked as soon as the pair had rounded a corner. "Have you sense of dignity or respect for the teacher?"

"He's old and talks too much," Sanami shrugged. "But c'mon! We have to go the Principle's office!"

"Sanami! You really should stop using your name to get whatever you want!" Akira snapped. "Is that how you want to be treated? Like a name? Like a snob?"

"No!" Sanami said, growing angry. "You wouldn't understand."

"So, because no one understands, you have the right to act this way?" Akira asked, raising his eyebrow. Sanami looked at her feet and said nothing. "You use your father's money and name to get whatever you want."

"You're the same!" Sanami finally blurted out. "You're only famous because of your dad!"

"That's not true!" Akira said, hurt by the comment.

"Is too! There are loads of Go prodigies, you're just famous because your dad is too!" Sanami said, looking slightly guilty, but saying it none the less. "You're not so great!"

"I've made my own success, I don't depend on my father's name for anything," Akira defended.

"But deep down, don't you feel weird when someone treats you different or special?" Sanami asked accusingly. "And maybe not because you want to! But you would just feel weird right?"

"That's not true," Akira shook his head. "If someone treated my normally, I would have no problem."

"Then why do you freak out when I treat you that way?" Sanami asked and Akira stopped, as if shocked that she had just insinuated such a thing.

"Normally? You practically stalk me!"

"At least I don't squeal over you and start fan clubs with your name in the title!" Sanami stomped her foot and Akira blushed. "At least I don't treat you special!"

"I don't have time for this," Akira turned on his heel. "I'm going back to class."

"And you act normal around me!"

Akira stopped, looked up, and turned around to face Sanami. "That's absolutely ridiculous! I always act this way."

"I bet you never yell at people!" Sanami snapped. "Only me! Because you hate me!"

"I don't hat-" Akira stopped and found himself blushing red. "I…I don't hate you! I hate the way you behave."

"Nobody treats me normally!" Sanami cried. "They all just think I'm a rich snob before they even get to know me!"

"Then don't _act_ like a rich snob!" Akira snapped and Sanami stepped back, surprised from his sharp words. "Don't just sit around and pity yourself! That does no good! Maybe if you acted nicely then people would want to get to know you!" Sanami looked at her shoes and didn't answer. "Mouthing off to the teacher and wearing 500,000 yen worth of clothing isn't a good start."

"Why did you get to know me?" Sanami asked and Akira paused, as if thinking over the question. "I acted like a rich snob… And a brat."

"You didn't leave me much choice," Akira sighed. "Look, Sanami, maybe you're right. You treated me differently and I guess…I guess that kind of made me want to understand why." He looked up at her and flashed a light smile. "You got me. Happy?"

"You're right too," Sanami smiled and pumped her fist. "From today on I'm not going to be a rich snob anymore!"

"Glad to hear it," Akira smiled.

"But!" Sanami hopped up and down for a second. "For now, I'm not going to change!"

"HUH?"

"If I do, then you won't want to get to know me better!" Sanami laughed, grabbing Akira's wrist. "C'mon! We've got a Principle to get in trouble with!"

* * *

"Woohoo!" Sanami cheered. "We BOTH got detention even if the Principle was in a meeting and couldn't see us!" It was lunch time and Sanami and Akira had proudly walked out of the Principle's office with Detention slips. Or at least Sanami was proud. Akira was more of mortified. 

"My mother is going to be so angry," he shook. "Detention? This is horrible! I didn't even do anything!"

"But we'll get to sit next to each other!" Sanami cheered. "It'll be so fun! Best buds, doing crimes and serving time!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Man, you sure are overreacting," Sanami pouted. "It's just one detention! If you want I can get Kosuke to…" She stopped and looked at her detention slip. Akira stopped with her and tried to find what she was staring at. Finally, Sanami looked up and smiled. "I guess we'll just have to put up with it, won't we?"

Akira stopped, paused, then smiled. "Yeah…I guess we will."

"Just like everyone else!" Sanami cheered and Akira returned the grin.

"Just like everyone else." He stopped and his eyes widened. "Uh oh…this detention is scheduled for the time I have Go club."

"You're in the school Go club?" Sanami asked skeptically. "What are you trying to do, humiliate everyone?"

"I…have my motivations," Akira said sternly. "The tournament is coming up in a few weeks."

"It is?" Sanami asked. "And of course you're not entering!"

"I…am…" Akira said and Sanami swiveled her head.

"Huh? What happened to the nice and humble Akira? You're just trying to beat the pants off of everybody!"

"Look, I have my reasons," Akira assured her. "Anyway, I'll have to apologize to Yun-sensei later."

"Go club…" Sanami pondered. "C'mon! Let's go get some lunch!" She grabbed Akira's arm and led him swiftly down the corridor. "I'm starving!"

* * *

End of chapter 2! No Go…strangely…sigh. I hope you'll all enjoy the next chapter that'll be coming soon! 

Sammy


	3. White Polish

Gray Stones

Hey all you guys! I'm glad you're liking the story so far! It's only getting hairier from here! Akira's stuck with a brat who's playing a strange game of Go! Let's see what today holds for us!

Chapter 3 – White Polish

* * *

And so, every week, Akira had to spend one Saturday in Sanami's presence. These weekly visits (not to mention how she pestered him at school) usually consisted of her begging him to play with her in one way or another. A simple game of Go did not suffice. She had to do at least an hour of complaining.

"How come you're leaving already?" she whined that Saturday, sitting on her carpet as Akira took his jacket in his arms. "It's only noon!"

"I have to go," he told her. "I've got practice."

"You go to the Go Club like a bajillion times a day!" she exaggerated. "How come you need to practice?"

"You wouldn't understand if I told you," he tried to brush her off. Of course, in Sanami's case, that was impossible.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

"No, no, no, no!"

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me…"

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Her constant whining of "Tell me!" followed Akira as he hastily walked down the hall of her large mansion, the words vibrating in his ears. He felt a migraine coming on. "TELLLL MEEEE!"

"NO!"

"Are you practicing to beat that Hikaru Shindo guy?" Sanami asked and Akira's eyes widened, as if he was taken aback. "I thought you would have already beaten him!"

"No…" he spoke softly. "But I will. The Kaio Go tournament is coming up a few weeks from now… Then I shall face Hikaru Shindo again."

"You're so SERIOUS!" Sanami yawned and Akira turned on the spot. "It's just a game!"

"Go isn't just a game!" he snapped. "It's what countless people devote their lives to! Including my father!"

"But it's just a game!" she reminded him. "You get it in a box at a toy store! Why are you so uptight about it?"

"Go is my passion," he responded, his eyes narrow and cold. "Tell me, Miss Matsu'ura…"

"Sanami."

"Fine, Sanami, why did you become such a master at your game of Go?"

Sanami stopped and looked at Akira, as if pondering whether to answer him or not. She bit her lip and shook her head. "None of your beeswax!"

"Fine, then I shall take my leave."

"We just got a new pool table installed today!" she told him, running up to block his path. "Want to play?"

"No."

"Want to watch a movie? I've got popcorn and candy."

"No."

"MAN! You never want to do ANYTHING with me!"

"I thought you said that you were going to try and be less selfish!" Akira snapped.

"I said I was going to act less like a rich snob!" Sanami reminded him. "Poor nice people can be selfish!"

"You're so naïve!"

"Am not! I have an excellent taste in clothes!"

Akira didn't even retaliate at that comment, he just bolted down the stairs, not wanting Sanami to catch him. "Hey! Why are you running?"

"Because you're following me!" Akira yelled over his shoulder and Sanami ran down the stairs after him. "I'm leaving! Get over it!"

"You STILL haven't told me why you joined the Go club!" Sanami snapped and Akira stopped. "You just want to beat this guy! Then challenge him to a game, it's no big whoop!"

"It is a "big whoop"," Akira said, sighing dejectedly. "You wouldn't understand."

"You know…" Sanami tapped her mouth with her finger, as if thinking. "I'm not in any school clubs."

"Oh, really? I thought you were a social bee," said Akira sarcastically.

"No need to get nasty!" Sanami stuck out her tongue and turned her back. "You can go now if you want. See you on Monday!"

Akira was dumbfounded as Sanami rushed up the stairs to her room. Had she just released him from her villainous teeth? Was he actually free to go without another hour or so of pestering and complaining?

Not wanting to miss his chance, he ran out the door, leaving Sanami and her white stone house behind.

* * *

"Now listen up everyone," Yun-sensei called to the Go Club Monday afternoon. The entire room looked up, as did Akira from his table in the back. His eyes focused on Yun-sensei, and then, the girl next to him. He gave a huge gulp as he saw none other then Sanami standing in front of the room, smiling and waving to the class of students. All of them were eyeing her with wary looks. "We have a new member here today. I know it's a little late in the year, but she practically begged to be let into the club."

'Yeah, I can imagine Sanami doing that…' Akira thought bitterly, grimacing as Sanami gave him a wink.

"Her name is Sanami Matsu'ura. I hope you'll all make her feel welcome." Yun-sensei nodded to Sanami who nodded back to him. Akira stood up to go talk to Sanami and hopefully force her out of the club.

"Sanami!" Akira hissed as he made his way over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I wasn't in any school clubs," Sanami pouted. "I thought I should join one! And why not join the same one as my best bud?"

"Akira, you know this girl?" Yun-sensei asked, looking at Akira questioningly.

"Uhh…kind of…"

"Hmm…" Yun-sensei looked at Sanami. "First, I should see how strong you are. Let's see here…who should I partner you with?" Yun-sensei looked at the classroom of girls, looking for someone that Sanami could play.

"Yun-sensei!" Akira rasped to his teacher and Yun-sensei turned to him, his eyebrow quirked in confusion. "This girl…is extremely strong. I think you should play her yourself."

"Myself?" Yun-sensei questioned, looking at Sanami. "Miss Matsu'ura is really that strong?"

"Yes," Akira nodded. "I strongly suggest that you play her yourself."

"Fine," Yun-sensei smiled at Sanami, who smiled back. "Shall we play a game Miss Matsu'ura?"

"Whoo! Sure! But, can I play against my best buddy, Akira?" she asked, hugging Akira around the neck to his dismay.

"Heh, no, I think it would be better if you played against me," Yun-sensei pulled out a chair for her and she took it, staring at the Go board as Yun-sensei passed her a bowl of black stones. "This is just to test how strong you are. Akira here seems to think very highly of your abilities."

"He'd better!" Sanami grinned. "I beat him loads!"

Yun-sensei looked up, slightly shocked at Akira, who opened his mouth to explain, but Yun-sensei didn't bother. "You really have beaten Akira?"

"More then once!"

"My…" Yun-sensei smiled with anticipation. "You are a very strong player then. Shall we safely say that you shouldn't put down any handicap?"

"Yep! That's fine with me!" Sanami smiled. "Who goes first?"

Yun-sensei blinked, then chuckled. "You're a funny girl. Surely, you must know that black always goes first?"

"Oh!" Sanami nodded and picked up one of her stones. "Sure! I'll go first!" She placed her stone down, and the game began.

* * *

"I…I don't understand…" Akira breathed heavily, looking down at the Go board that Sanami and Yun-sensei had been playing. It was impossible! The game had been completely one-sided! It was obvious who had the advantage… "SANAMI, YOU'RE REALLY HORRIBLE!"

Sanami laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as she looked down at the board that she and Yun-sensei were playing on. It was obvious, Yun-sensei had demolished Sanami in only the first five or six minutes of the game. "Don't give me a hard time! I don't know how to play real Go!"

"R-real Go?" Yun-sensei asked, then turned to Akira. "How in the world did you lose to Miss Matsu'ura? Was it…perhaps a pity game?" He looked at Akira suspiciously. "Or did you have a collateral?"

"NO!" Akira shouted, blushing a bright red at the connotation of Yun-sensei's accusation. "Y-you don't understand!"

"Well…" Yun-sensei stood up. "Miss Matsu'ura…I believe that you're still a beginner. Maybe you should play with…"

"Akira!" Sanami grasped Akira's arm firmly. "I want to play with Akira!"

"Miss Matsu'ura…Akira is…umm…a little too strong for you, I'm afraid."

"But I beat him!"

"Yes…yes…" Obviously, Yun-sensei did not believe her. "But I think that you'd be much better paired with Maki or Chikage…"

"No!" Sanami shook her head, still clinging to Akira's arm. "I want to play with Akira!"

"Miss Matsu'ura, I'm afraid I'll choose who you are to play…"

"I'll play with her," Akira sighed, shaking his head. Sanami gave a small cheer and nuzzled her cheek next to Akira's. "If I don't, we'll never get her to shut up."

"Akira, I can force her…"

"You can't force this girl to do anything," Akira shook his head. "She's completely crazy. C'mon, Sanami…" He led Sanami over to his table in the back and she sat down, smiling widely and throwing her school bag loudly on the ground.

"Who's that?"

"That's the new girl. Matsu'ura."

"How come she gets to play with Akira?"

"It's not fair!"

"Look!" Sanami giggled and pointed to a few girls who were eyeing her with a look of utmost contempt. "They're jealous! Hah!" Sanami pulled down her eye socket at them and stuck out her tongue. They grimaced and returned quickly to their games. "C'mon Akira, let's play!"

"No, I'm busy," Akira snapped, pulling out his book of old Go games and taking out a stone. He placed it on the correct spot and looked at the book again. Sanami looked at the book, then at him, then yawned and started to move the stone around the board. Akira only noticed her doing this after he laid the second stone. "Sanami! I told you not to bother me!" Akira snatched the stone away from her and slammed it back on the correct spot.

"You're being boring!" Sanami snapped.

"And hey…" Akira put down his book and quirked his eyebrow. "How come you're so awful at Go?"

"I'm not awful!" Sanami retorted. "I beat you didn't I?"

"I mean at regular Go!"

"Oh…" Sanami sighed sheepishly. "Umm…well, I don't usually play regular Go. I don't like it very much."

Akira realized that the fact that Sanami was such a beginner to regular Go only added to her prowess at Gray Go. Basically, as long as she made circles of territory and captured the other person's stones while confusing them, she could win. The fact that her moves were practically beginner's, she didn't allow her opponent the luxury of feeling the flow of the movements of the game. "Why don't you like it?"

"Because it's boring," Sanami said, picking earwax out of her ear with her pinky and flicking it off. "And I might lose. I don't like losing."

"That's it?" Akira screamed in a whisper as not to disturb the others. "You don't play it because you might lose?"

"Well, yeah. I like being the best at things. I don't like losing."

"Nobody likes losing," Akira agreed. "But everyone _does_ lose. It's part of life. You shouldn't resist trying something because you might lose."

"Huh, what did you say?" Sanami asked, jumping out of daydream land to face Akira. Akira, now flustered that she hadn't even been listening, returned to his book, his face red and hot from anger. "Man, what's your problem?"

* * *

But Saturday came faster then Akira had ever thought, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in front of Sanami's white stone house, looking extremely displeased. His finger lingered on the doorknob, not sure if he should press it or not. "What am I doing this for?" Akira sighed and pressed the button.

"AKIRA!" The next thing Akira knew, Sanami had thrown herself on top of him. Akira had gotten more then used to this type of behavior, and he had to admit to himself that he was not surprised by it. "Akira! Let's play!"

"Fine, fine…" Akira grimaced as Sanami jumped off of him and ran upstairs to her room. He dragged his feet, following her, spending an extra long time getting off his shoes and putting on his slippers. He trudged up the stairs, Sanami poking him to go faster the entire time. "I'm coming…"

"Here we go!" Sanami pulled him through her door in which the Go board was already set up in the middle of the room. "Let's play a game! Let's play a game!"

Akira sat down on his side of the board and grabbed a bowl of gray stones. He set it in lap, almost as if he was more then used to the bowl being there, and opened the lid. "Do you want to go first?"

"Oooo, yes!" Sanami nodded. She placed a stone down, and Akira responded with his move.

Then he stopped and smiled. "Oh wow Sanami…that opening move was really great."

"You think so?" Sanami laughed. "You ain't seen nuttin' yet, boy!" She placed down her next stone, and Akira put down his, not paying much attention to where it fell.

"That move was even better. I don't think I can win."

"You never win, silly!" Sanami laughed, placing another stone, connecting to her others as to form a net of territory. "Hah! I bet THAT one was good too!"

Actually, that move was something that would be expected of a monkey, but Akira was not about to say that. It was the beginning of the game, and Akira knew that in a few minutes, Sanami would start to get wild with placing stones all over both their territories. "You're on fire today Sanami. That's it," Akira smiled and put down his bowl. "I resign. You win. I'm going home now."

"HUH?" Sanami asked, her eyes wide. "Y-you what?"

"I resign," Akira smiled pleasantly, obviously extremely pleased with himself. "That means I forfeit."

"Y-y-you mean you lose already?" Sanami asked and Akira nodded.

"So now that we've played our game, I think I'll just go."

"You can't resign!" Sanami pointed at Akira and Akira quirked his eyebrow and smirked.

"You can always resign in Go. It's a basic rule."

"Not in Gray Go!" Sanami retorted and Akira turned back to her. "In Gray Go, there's no resigning!"

"Says who?" Akira asked, now obviously flustered and frustrated.

"Says…says the official rule book!" Sanami told him.

"What "Official Rule Book"?" Akira asked skeptically. "You never showed me a rule book!"

"That's because it's all right up here," Sanami tapped her head and Akira sighed dejectedly.

"Then, tell me, Princess of the Rule Book, what other rules are in this game?" Akira asked and Sanami paused for a second.

"Umm…Rule One! No resigning is allowed!"

"Yes, yes, I know that one. Any _others_?"

"Uhh…" she gave a longer paused and bit her lip. "Uhhh…Rule Two! You have to play with Gray Stones!"

"Yeah, I kind of picked that up," Akira sighed, shaking his head. "Any others?"

"Umm…" Sanami paused, tapped her head, and then nodded. "Rule Three! Any other rules may be added by the creator at any time!"

"WHICH BASICALLY MEANS YOU CAN ADD ANY RULE YOU WANT WHENEVER YOU WANT!" Akira bellowed, blowing Sanami over. "I bet you just made up that "no resigning" rule to keep me here!"

"Hey! I'm the creator! Rule Three says I can add any rules I want!"

"You just made up that dumb rule book!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Look, I'm not getting into this," Akira threw his coat over his shoulder and opened Sanami doorknob. "I lost the game, so I'm leaving."

"There's no resigning in Gray Go, I told you that! That's Rule One!" Sanami stuck out her tongue. "You have to keep playing!"

"Fine!" Akira slammed the door shut and sat in front of the Go board, throwing a stone on a random point. "There, happy?"

"Very!" Sanami smiled and placed down another one of her stones.

"Pass."

Sanami frowned, then placed another stone next to her other one. A complete beginner's move.

"Pass."

Sanami pouted, placing another stone.

"Pass."

"Arrgh! You're deliberately trying to make this game frustrating!" Sanami folded her arms.

"What?" Akira asked, looking thoroughly upset that he had been forced to play this stupid game even longer then he thought he would have to. "The "rules" don't say that I can't pass repeatedly. In fact, the "rules" don't say anything about passing."

"Well, new rule!" Sanami decreed. "Rule Number Four: No passing until the game's over!"

"That's stupid!" Akira snapped. "The game's over when neither player can make a move and they both pass! Either that or when they run out of stones."

"Duh! That's why I said 'when the game's over'!" Sanami stuck out her tongue and placed another stone. Akira sighed loudly and placed another stone. He might as well get this over with.

"Hey! I've got an idea!" Sanami smiled at Akira. "An incentive to make you want to play!"

"There is nothing, I repeat, _nothing_, that can make me want to play this drivel. I would rather play 'Pong'."

"Rule Number Five!" Sanami stated, sounding overly official. "When the challenger, that's you, wins against the champion, that's me, the challenger no longer has to play unless he wills so!"

Akira's eyes shot up at that. "You mean, if I win, I don't have to play anymore?" He stopped. "Wait…I remember now. I had completely forgotten but…"

"_You can…you don't have to come anymore…only if you beat me!"_

"_Huh?" Akira turned around to face her. "What do you mean by that?"_

"_Just what it sounds like," she turned her nose upward. "You can only stop playing with me if you beat me."_

_Akira stared at her, glowering down upon her sitting form with an utmost look of disgust. "Fine! I'll beat you at your stupid game."_

"That's right!" Sanami nodded. "So you should try to beat me!"

Akira sat up, his spine completely straight. 'Now I have to win…' he thought, nodding to himself. 'But how… It's the color of these stones…if only there was a way that I could attach a color to them, I would demolish her. She's so inexperienced at the real game…'

"Okay! It's your move!" Sanami smiled, pointing to the board. Akira stared down at it. He hadn't been paying any attention in the beginning, in fact, he remembered that he had basically thrown his stones wherever they might land, so he could hardly remember his moves. But, since both were only in the very first moves of the game, he was able to retrace the moves to the best of his ability. He placed a stone down. "Goodie! My turn!"

Sanami grabbed a stone from her bucket and placed it on the board. Akira reacted with his move, and Sanami with hers. But, before Sanami placed her move, she gave a dramatic yawn and moved her hand across Akira's face, placing her stone on the board without him seeing. Akira narrowed his eyebrows. "That's cheating."

"What's cheating?" Sanami asked, fanning her face with her hand. "The rules don't say anything about yawning being cheating."

"Oh yeah, and you have to stick your hand in front of my face in order to block your move to yawn!"

"I wasn't doing that because I was yawning!" Sanami snapped, then showed Akira her fingers. Akira looked down to see black polish decorating each fingernail perfectly. "I'm drying my nail coating! I don't want them to chip, do I?"

"Of course," Akira grunted, placing his stone down. Sanami placed hers down, and Akira once again looked at Sanami's black painted nail place the stone down.

His eyes widened and he smiled. "Hey Sanami, is black your favorite color?"

"Hmm…well, I like white and black," she smiled. "That's why my room's white and black."

"Weren't you wearing white nail polish just the other day?" Akira asked, still being overly pleasant.

"Yep! I have two bottles, black and white!" Sanami nodded. "Which do you think looks best on me?"

"Oh, black, definitely," Akira smiled, doing his best to hide the fact that he was chuckling uncontrollably on the inside. "It definitely looks best on you. Oh…by the way…"

"Hmm, what's up?" Sanami asked, smiling, obviously happy that Akira was being much nicer to her now.

"Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure! It's right through that door!" Sanami pointed to a white door in her room and Akira nodded, getting up and going through the door. "Come back soon! We're still playing!"

"Oh, of course we're still playing!" Akira nodded, smiling as he closed the door.

* * *

The minute the door shut, Akira turned on his heel and threw himself to the make-up cabinet. He threw it open and started to sort through the huge amounts of make-up contained in its drawers. "Why in the world does she have this much make-up?" Akira asked, coughing as he knocked some strange powder to the ground.

Finally, Akira found what he was looking for. A bottle of white nail polish. He had to help himself from laughing as he opened the bottle and took out the brush. He clumsily painted each one of his nails on his hand and then screwed the cap back on. Thrusting the bottle back into the chest, he smiled triumphantly at his job.

"The stones may be gray…" Akira smiled. "But with this, as long as I keep a sharp eye on Sanami's hands, I can differentiate her moves from mine. All I have to do is remember which color put down which stone."

* * *

"Man, you took a long time!" Sanami pouted as Akira walked out of the bathroom and sat down in front of the board again.

"Shall we continue playing?" he asked, taking his bowl in his hands.

"Ooo, eager to lose I see?" Sanami smirked, grabbing the bowl in her hand.

"We'll see who loses," Akira smiled, placing down his stone. '_White moves.'_

"Hah! Sharp words!" Sanami smiled, placing down her stone.

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

It was working. The colors started appearing in Akira's eyes and he could see the board. This had to be the cleverest trick he had ever come up with. Sanami hadn't even noticed the polish on his fingers! The game wore on for a few more minutes, and Akira didn't take any mercy on Sanami, as she already had taken a large amount of territory. He was slowly starting to catch up due to his much higher skills then Sanami.

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

"I've gotta go to the bathroom too," Sanami frowned, standing up and walking to the bathroom. "Don't move any stones while I'm gone, got it?"

"Oh, I don't have to cheat," Akira smirked as Sanami closed the door. "She knows I'm winning. She's probably freaking out in there." He laughed to himself. "Sorry Miss Matsu'ura, you're about to lose your unwilling playmate."

A few minutes passed, and Sanami came out of the bathroom, smiling. "You didn't cheat while I was gone, did you?"

"Of course not."

"Good!" She plopped down in front of the board and took her stone. "It's my turn! I'll play." She put her stone down, and the game resumed.

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

Akira smiled. Just like before, he was dominating. It was obvious, in a few more moves, that he would overtake Sanami. He could kiss these Saturday afternoons of hell goodbye. He would have to remember to send as much money as he ever got in his life to the creator of nail polish.

'_White moves.'_

'_Black moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

'_White moves.'_

"Huh?" Akira whispered to himself, looking at the board. White had many more moves then black. What was going on? He looked up at Sanami as she placed her stone down, and Akira's eyes widened.

Sanami's fingers were also painted white…

"YOU LITTLE CHEAT!" Akira shouted, ready to tear out his head. The entire game was thrown off. For the past twenty moves, Sanami had led him to believe she was playing white as well!

Sanami laughed, sticking out her tongue. "Hah! Serves you right for trying that dumb trick and going through my make-up cabinet!"

"You only pretended not to notice!" Akira grimaced.

"Actually, you caught me off guard for a while there," Sanami laughed. "Too bad for you. If I wasn't as smart as I am beautiful then you probably would have won!"

"Wh-who says I've lost?" Akira asked, growing extremely flustered.

"Let's see at the end of the game…"

* * *

"Well, that was close!" Sanami laughed as she escorted Akira out of her room. "But I still won! It was because you got thrown off towards the end! That nail polish thing was smart though!"

"God damn it…" Akira grimaced. "Another Saturday of you and your game."

"Just get better!" Sanami pouted. "Get your head in the game!"

"My head is perfectly in the game, thanks very much."

"No it isn't!" Sanami snapped, and Akira turned around to face her. "You know, I'm really pissed off at you!"

"Wh-why?"

"Because when you're over here, I know you're only paying like…like half you maximum attention to me!" She snapped, folding her arms. "No matter what! Half your brain is off in la la "I gotta beat Hikaru Shindo" land!"

Akira's eyes widened and his complexion grew pale. He turned away from Sanami; his hair hiding his downcast complexion. "I'm leaving. Goodbye."

"Hey! Wait!" Sanami followed him as he went briskly down the stairs. "What're you so upset about? Just forget about him!"

"I can't!"

Akira snapped so suddenly that Sanami stepped back, looking hurt. Akira realized that he may have gone a little overboard, but he didn't bother to apologize. "I…I can't forget about him. Not after what he showed me." He shook his head. "I…must defeat him."

Akira didn't say another word as he walked down the rest of the stairs, past the marble floors, to the door, and out onto the front porch. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, Sanami did not follow him.

* * *

The End of the chapter:D I hope you all enjoyed it!

Don't forget to review please!


	4. Black Jeans

Hello everyone! I'm back with the forth chapter of "Gray Stones"! I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to review, and I'd also like to thank everyone who offered constructive criticism and even flames to help me improve! Thank you all very much; I shall take your comments to heart when writing fictions again!

Also, I'd like to thankthat one reviewer, cuteplushie,for the vote of confidence. Don't worry! I happen to have taken an extreme liking to this story, and there's no way I'm going to continue! I'm glad you like my writing, and I hope you will continue to read in the future.

So, although this is not my most popular story, I'm afraid I'm continuing. I'm sorry for those of you who do not appreciate it, but you don't have to read if you don't like. I'd like to send my sincerest thanks that you even hit the little button at the bottom of the page to help me improve. It really means a lot.

In truth, I got kind of tired of "Kawai! Super cute! Continue!" reviews. I'm glad to see the Hikaru No Go section is full of very competent people who are not afraid to voice their opinions. Thank you very, very much.

And now, for the fourth chapter!

* * *

Chapter Four: Black Jeans

"Akiiiiraa!"

"Sanami, I'm going to change my phone number if you keep calling me."

"Let's do something tomorrow!" It was Monday evening, and Sanami had not failed in her constant evening calls to Akira. Since it was Monday night, it was begging time. Akira had actually begun to see a pattern. "C'mon! It'll be fun! Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with sugar and marshmallows and candy on top?"

"I said no! I'm too busy. I've got to practice."

"You ALWAYS practice…it's SO boring. Maybe if you took a break from Go, you'd realize that there are better things in life."

Akira ignored that comment. He was not in the mood for a misinformed lecture from Sanami; that was for sure. He just kept silent, hoping that she'd drop the subject.

"Seriously!" Unfortunately, Akira's hopes were not answered. It seemed Sanami could blabber to a wall for hours on head, let alone Akira. "You go to school, play in the Go club, read Go books, go home and play Go, do other…Go stuff! I bet you, you like, have a pool in the shape of a Go board!"

"That would make it squarish. Many pools are square."

"Oh shut up!" Sanami said jokingly, and Akira grimaced. Why wouldn't she leave him alone? "Anyway, let's do something that doesn't have to do anything with Go!"

"I'm not interested…"

"I bet if I said that I was going to the National Go Museum of All Things Go you'd want to go!"

"Actually, no..." Akira mumbled, not noting that sucha museum didn'texist. "I wouldn't want to go, because all you'd do is whine about how boring it is."

"…Do I whine a lot…?" Akira paused. Sanami sounded oddly sincere. Akira guessed that he had hit a soft spot.

"Well…"

"Tell me the truth!" Sanami snapped over the phone. "Don't sugar coat it! I'm trying to become a better person after all!"

Akira could think of a huge list of things Sanami could improve upon, but decided to leave it at the whining. "You do whine a lot. To get your way."

"Oh…" Sanami murmured. "But how else am I supposed to get what I want?"

"Try asking nicely."

"…like…how?"

Akira sighed. This was tougher then planned. "Say "please"."

"I did say "please"!"

"Say it like you mean it. Don't just say it to be annoying."

"Oh…okay! How?"

Akira slapped his forehead. This was going nowhere, fast. "Didn't your parents teach you any of this?"

"Well…Daddy's never around, and he and Mom are divorced. Mom lives in England, so I never see her…" Sanami trailed off. "Nah. All I've had is Kosuke."

"Is Mr. Shibahime your…guardian or something? I thought he was your father's secretary."

"He is. But Daddy forces him to take care of me. Like whenever I want something, Kosuke gets it for me."

"I've been going to your house for a while," Akira thought out loud, leaning back in his chair. "But, I've never seen your father. Is he not there on Saturdays?"

"Hah! Daddy's never here. He's usually on business trips or something like that."

"Don't you miss him?" Akira asked. He thought about his own father. His father was never the warm type, but at least he saw Akira more then Sanami's father saw Sanami.

"Not really…I remember one time. Daddy came home and left for China, and I didn't notice he was gone until three weeks later!" Sanami's laugh came over the phone, and Akira felt a sting of sympathy in his chest. Sanami never, ever saw her parents, and yet she laughed about it. But the laughing died down quite quickly. "So…uhh…yeah…I never see my parents a lot."

Her last sentence gave it all away. Sanami didn't appreciate the fact that her father was gone for months at a time, and that she never saw him, or that his secretary (who obviously did not like her very much) acted as a surrogate parent. Then it struck Akira rather sharply, but, inside, he had known it all along.

He was all Sanami had.

"Sanami…"

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Sanami asked, and Akira could almost feel her smile widening as she spoke over the phone. "We have to do something super fun!"

"We have no time," Akira told her. "I've…I mean…_we've_ got Go Club after school."

"Let's ditch school!"

"I'm NOT ditching school!"

"Then let's ditch Go Club! All you ever do is read and play by yourself, and all I ever do is annoy you!"

"That's another thing. Annoying people isn't good."

"But you're my best friend, so it's okay!"

Akira gave a heavy sigh again. "I can't ditch Go Club either."

"Then let's go _after _Go Club!"

"It's too late, and my mother will be expecting me home."

"You're right…all the good stores will be closed by the time we get out…" Sanami gave a small groan.

"Why don't we go on a weekend?"

"Cause that's when all the _school-kids_ go!"

"We are in school…"

"Well, I suppose there's really only one option…" Sanami sighed. "We're going on Wednesday, okay?"

"I told you, we have Go Club."

"Geez, geez, you never leave anything alone do you," said Sanami, obviously annoyed. "Everything'll be fine! Just wait!"

"What do you mean? Sanami?"

"Love ya best bud! Bye!" And with that, Sanami hung up the phone.

* * *

"Oh wow!" Sanami frowned as the Go Club meeting the next afternoon finished and Akira packed up his stuff. He looked up to where Sanami was looking to see that she was staring at the rain that was pouring outside. "It's raining!"

"Clever observation," Akira rolled his eyes, grabbing his school bag. He was still angry that Sanami had someone forced him into some sort of shopping spree with her that was supposed to magically happen the next day. Now, it was raining, and the weather matched Akira's sullen mood towards the blonde girl next to him. He pulled out a small umbrella and walked swiftly out of the room with it, hoping Sanami would not follow him.

His hopes were really being shot down these days.

"Akira!" Sanami called after him, jogging to catch up with him. "I don't have an umbrella!"

"You should have brought one," Akira snapped as they stepped outside. He opened his umbrella and held it above his head. "The weather report said it was going to rain."

"Who watches that dumb crap?" Sanami asked, her eyes narrow.

"I do, I guess. Good day," he stepped out into the rain, and, surprisingly, Sanami followed him, shivering in the cold. "Sanami, what are you doing?"

"I left my cell phone at home! I can't call Kosuke!" She told him. "I have to walk home! Let me go under your umbrella!"

"No," Akira snapped, not even bringing up the fact that she could probably find a phone in the school. "Your house is in the opposite direction of mine. It would take a half an hour to walk there. An hour to get back to my house. My mother will worry."

"C'mon! You're just going to leave a poor damsel in distress?"

"Do I look like a Knight to you?" he asked, and then, stomped off.

"JERK! IDIOT! I HATE YOU! SEE IF I'LL EVER BE YOUR FRIEND AGAIN!" She screamed after him, and Akira walked even faster as to get away from the shrieking girl in the rain. "OH, AND BY THE WAY, OUR TRIP IS STILL HAPPENING! SO THERE!"

* * *

"Darn…darn…darnit!" Akira kept muttering to himself as he walked down the sidewalk towards his house. The rain had only gotten heavier and Akira stomped through the deep puddles, muttering as he went along. "DARN!" He finally shouted, turned on his heel, and then jogged back towards the school.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Akira shook his head. "Sanami is going to get a sharp thrashing for making me come all the way out here to help her!"

Akira was half angry, half upset. The angry part of him was buzzing in his ears, telling him that it was her own stupid fault for not getting an umbrella. It was also her dumb stupid fault for joining the Go club. It was also her dumb stupid fault for following him around school and changing her schedule. It was also her dumb stupid fault that she called him every night. It was also her dumb stupid fault that she pulled him into her car that day, saving him from one nightmare and throwing him into another much worse one.

The upset half of him was telling him that no matter how silly, how superficial, how ridiculous, how outlandish, and how selfish Sanami was, she was still a person, and a scared one at that. She acted selfish, seemed only in it for herself, but he could tell that inside, she just needed a friend.

"Sanami!" He called through the rain. "Sanami, where are you?"

He kept walking, passing the school. "Maybe she went back to the school!" He nodded, then jogged up to the school and noticed someone standing in the front. "Excuse me?"

The person, who looked like an authority figure, turned around and noticed Akira. Smiling, she nodded to him. "Yes?"

"Did a girl with really light blonde hair come in here? After school I mean. She's a student."

"Oh, I remember that girl," the woman nodded. "She left a while ago, without an umbrella. Did her parents come to pick her up?"

"Thank you!" Akira didn't answer her question as he dashed off, cursing Sanami's stupidity. "Sanami! Why'd you leave? Stupid!"

"Sanami! Sanami!" It had seemed like five hours, when really it had only been about ten minutes that Akira had been searching for Sanami. Even with his umbrella, he was becoming soaked. Water had gotten through his shoes, into his socks, and drops splattered his jacket and hair. "Sanami!"

He rounded another corner and stopped. Dead stopped.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"Hmm? What's wrong Akari?"

"There's a girl over there!"

"You need your eyes checked, I don't see anyone."

"Right there, Hikaru!"

"Oh woah, you're right! Hey, are you okay?"

Sanami was there, shivering against a fence, soaked to the bone. But two others were there. One was a girl, obviously named Akari (Akira thought he recognized her briefly, but his image was very fuzzy), and the other was none other then Hikaru Shindo.

"Are you all right?" Akari asked, running over to Sanami, who looked up at them both. Her face was pale and lips were turning slightly blue. Hikaru offered her a hand and she took it.

Akira felt his face burn with some sort of locked anger as he watched the scene.

"Man, you're freezing!" Hikaru shivered, putting his umbrella over her head. "You okay? Why are you out here without an umbrella?"

"I…I don't have one with me," Sanami muttered.

"Here, where's your house?" Akari offered, smiling and holding out her umbrella, hovering it over Sanami's head. "We'll take you home."

"Huh? We will?" Hikaru asked, obviously not bargaining for this.

"Of course! Don't be mean, Hikaru!"

"Okay, okay, okay! C'mon, let's take you home."

"That won't be necessary."

All three looked up to see Akira, standing there, in the rain, his eyes narrowed at Hikaru. Hikaru looked rather shocked and slightly embarrassed to see Akira. Akira stomped forward, thrust his umbrella into Sanami's hands, then walked off, not giving them a second look.

"Was that Akira's sister or something?"

"No way! Man, you're an airhead! They look nothing alike! Probably his girlfriend!"

"Are you jealous or something?" Akari asked, him, eyes narrowing. "Expecting that she's his girlfriend and all."

"Hey!" Hikaru defended. "Don't jump to conclusions like that! I'm not jealous or something!"

"Oh yeah right, I bet you wanted to be her knight in shining armor or something! Well why don't you just follow them?" Akari asked, then walked off, Hikaru following her, a frown on his face.

Akira stopped watching them from the corner and kept walking with Sanami. "H-Hey! You came to my rescue, thanks!"

Akira didn't respond, he crossed the street, ignoring passers, and kept walking, holding onto Sanami's wrist.

"Man! Are you jealous that that boy came to save me or something?"

Once again, Akira didn't respond, even after Sanami teased him. She looked rather miffed by that, frowning.

"What's your problem, dude?"

"That boy was Hikaru Shindo."

Sanami stopped, her eyes widening. "_Him?_"

Akira nodded.

"_Him?_"

"Yes."

"Man! He beat you? He doesn't look like anything special! Goes to Public Junior High."

"Yes, he beat me. Twice. Easily."

"I thought he'd be some dork with glasses who has a "I Love Go More then My Own Mother" shirt on or something! He seems really laid back."

"He is."

"And that pisses you off right?"

Akira stopped, but didn't answer. In a moment, he kept moving towards Sanami's house. "My mother will worry if I don't hurry."

* * *

"Akira!" Akira walked through his door about an hour later, soaked to the bone and dripping water all over the front porch. He took off his shoes, not saying anything as his mother ran over to him, obviously extremely worried. "Akira, what in the world happened? I got so frightened, your father and I were about to go looking for you! You're soaked!"

"I'm sorry Mother," Akira said.

"What in the world were you doing?"

Uh oh…time for an excuse on Akira's part. "My…my sempai…lost his cat."

There was a pause from both Akira's mother and his father, who sat in a chair reading a book. "Cat?"

"Yes…it was…umm…'Bring Your Pet to School' day…for…the second years…"

"...and…your…sempai lost his cat?"

"Yes, so I looked for it. Luckily, we found it…" Akira forced a smile. "I'm going up to do my homework!"

And with that, Akira bolted up the door; leaving both his mother and his father extremely confused.

* * *

"Hey Akira! Thanks for getting me home again!"

"Sanami…please…if you really want to thank me, hang up…"

"No way! We've got to discuss our plans for tomorrow's outing!"

"What plans? What outing?"

"Okay, be up by nine!"

"School starts at eight, so that should be no problem."

"We'll leave at ten!"

"Sanami, I told you a million times," Akira snapped. "I'm not ditching school!"

"We're not ditching school!" Sanami snapped back. "School's going to ditch us!"

Akira paused, quirking his eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Meet me in front of Oikawa Mall at ten o' clock sharp! It's close to your house, so you can walk!"

"Sanami, what are you talking-"

"Bye bestest buddy! Love you to bits!"

"Sanami, don't hang-"

Too late.

* * *

"Akira, you can sleep in today." Akira walked down the stairs, already dressed and ready for breakfast, only to see his mother smiling at him and pouring his father's tea.

"Hmm? Sleep in? But…school starts in an hour," Akira murmured.

"The school just called," his mother told him, sitting down and sipping her own drink. "It seems that they have an important meeting today, and school has been cancelled in order to let the faculty attend."

Akira stopped, dead in his tracks. "Umm…what kind of meeting? Did they mention?"

"Something to do with financial issues. That's all they told me."

Akira bounded up to his room just after his mother finished her sentence. It was obvious what had happened. Too obvious.

"Sanami!"

"Akira! _You_ actually called _me_ this time!"

"Sanami, what did you do?"

"I'm officially the hero of Kaio School!" Sanami giggled. "I got school cancelled!"

"You WHAT?"

"Why are you so upset? Don't tell me you're a geek who actually enjoys school or something."

"How in the world did you get school cancelled?"

"I told Kosuke to take some money out of my account and hold a meeting with the school on how to disperse it among stuff," Sanami told him. "And I told him to make sure that the teachers came too! Now school's cancelled and we can go on our outing!"

Akira couldn't wiggle his way out of this one. Sure, he could jump in his bed, go to sleep for the entire day, and pretend that Wednesday had just been skipped in the process of the week, but he knew that Sanami was going to be extra persistent today. "Fine…" he finally muttered to a squeal from Sanami. "Ten o' clock, right…?"

"Yep! See you then, best friend!"

Akira hung up the phone, then hung his head. "Something tells me…nothing good will come of this…"

* * *

"And – here – we – ARE!" Sanami shouted as she grabbed Akira's arm that morning at the mall. Akira had arrived just a few minutes earlier to see Sanami completely decked out for the occasion dressed in more expensive clothes and jewelry. Of course, the look was completed by the grin on her face. "C'mon! I know the perfect store to go to first!"

"When can I go?"

"When we're done!" Sanami snapped, pouting. "Our schedule's completely packed today Akira! There's not a moment for dawdling!"

"All you ever _do_ is dawdle!"

"Oh man, I thought you'd be more fun to go to the mall with, but I guess I was wrong," Sanami pouted. "You're so dry!"

"What do you mean by 'our schedule's completely packed'?" Akira asked, a little afraid at the answer he might receive. "All you're going to do is goof off in this mall."

"Goof off? I'm insulted!" Sanami gasped jokingly and then gave a short laugh. "No, Mr. Toya, we're on a mission today!"

"And what's that, may I ask?"

"To have a boat load of fun, of course! We're going "incognito"!"

"Incognito?"

"It means in disguise!"

"Yes, I know what it means…" Akira said tersely, not mentioning that Sanami didn't know the meaning of "naïve". "But what are we going to do "incognito"?"

"Put these on!" Sanami snapped, then threw Akira a pair of sunglasses. Akira looked at them oddly, then at Sanami.

"What are these for?"

"Put them on! They're part of your disguise!"

"Disguise? Sanami, these glasses aren't going to fool anyone, and there's no need to disguise myself…"

"Man! You are SO dry! Just put them on! I'll tell you what we're up to in a little bit, okay?"

Akira sighed, then complied with Sanami as to quiet her by putting on the glasses. Sanami smiled at him, then flipped out a pair of glasses for herself and fitted them on her face. "There!"

"Now where are we going?" Akira asked tersely, obviously very angered that he was wearing ridiculous looking sunglasses indoors.

"To a store!"

"Which store?"

"My favorite store!"

"Which store is your favorite store?"

"That store!"

"WHICH IS THAT STORE?"

"This store!"

Sanami stopped Akira and pointed to her right. Akira's head slowly turned to see none other then what looked like to be a gateway to hell.

The store had flames surrounding the door, the inside was black and dark, with fake blood covering the walls. Customers and attendants with huge amounts of piercing in odd places roamed the store, which was full of dark leather clothing. "_This_ is your favorite store?"

"Isn't it cool?" Sanami asked, running in. Akira took a wary step forward, expecting to be attacked by one of the customers, but no such attack came, and he assessed that it was safe to move forward. "Hey Keiko! I'm looking for something for this guy here!"

Akira turned to see Sanami waving to an employee with dyed pink hair and a skull ring through her nose. The attendant smiled at Akira, and Akira sighed knowing that she was at least nice. "Sure Sanami, I know the perfect thing for him. That rack over there.But he looks like a bit of a prat. The sunglasses don't really suit him."

"Yeah, but wait until _after _I give him my makeover!"

"He your boyfriend? You always come in here alone."

"N-nope! Akira, my boyfriend, please!" Sanami blushed, waving her hand. "Nope, he's my bestest buddy in the WHOLE world!"

Akira was glad to see none one in this store recognized him, and actually was relieved that its goers didn't seem to be interested in Go. Or maybe it was the sunglasses…

"Isn't this place cool Akira?" Sanami asked, taking his arm. "I know everyone who works here, and they're really nice!"

"Uhh…yes," he bowed to Keiko, who bowed back, flashing a pearly white smile. "But…Sanami, what did you mean by "make-over"?"

"This way!" The next thing Akira knew, he was being dragged across the store by Sanami to a section with clothes for men. "Ahh! I knew it! Take this, and this, and this!"

Sanami stuffed clothes into Akira's hand, all colored black. He couldn't even see what she was picking out, but the next thing he knew, he was being dragged over to the fitting rooms and thrown into a small stall.

"Try it all on! Even the hat!"

Akira noticed a baseball hat in the pile and put it on his head, feeling extremely ridiculous. "No! I don't want to try this on! I'm not buying anything!"

"I'll treat!" Sanami snapped.

"You don't understand…I…uhhh…these clothes aren't my type."

"Just put them on!"

Akira rolled his eyes, then began to take off his shirt. There was no way getting around it. He would try on the clothes, put his real clothes back on, then leave. Sanami would be satisfied and he would be free.

"So…" Sanami's voice drifted through the stall as Akira tried to piece together what article of clothing went where. "That Hikaru Shindo guy. You don't like him much, do you?"

Silence.

"He's nothing like you. Or at least that's what I got from him."

"Yes. He and I are…very different."

"So…he beat you…and you want to play him?"

"Yes."

"But he won't play you?"

"How did you…"

"I guessed. If you wanted to play him, you would've asked when we met yesterday."

Akira didn't respond as he put on a black tee-shirt with intentional rips in the sleeves.

"Akira! I'm going to get some stuff to try on! Be right back!" Sanami's footsteps echoed off, and Akira gave a huge sigh of relief that she was finally gone.

Hikaru Shindo. Akira remembered…when he had seen him yesterday, they had barely spoken, and yet, he felt a certain boiling rage inside of him. Whenever he looked at him, or thought about him. It was most likely because of what he had said about his casual attitude towards Go.

To Akira, Go was everything. His passion and his dreams for the future. But to Hikaru, whose skills were so far above his own, Go was a merely a past-time, something to joke about. Something about that made Akira's head spin. He couldn't stop thinking about Hikaru.

How could it possibly be, that someone like Hikaru, a person who didn't seem to care for Go much at all, could possibly have beaten Akira, who worked hard days at becoming extremely skilled at it? Not only beaten, but demolished. It was obvious that Hikaru's ability was on par with pros, if not even better.

He was wasting his talent…throwing it away as a mere trifle…and that angered Akira.

"Akira! I'm back!" Sanami's sharp voice interrupted his train of thought as he heard the door in the room next to him bang shut. "I got some really cute stuff! Just wait! Oh, yeah, what were we talking about?"

"Nothing."

"Hikaru Shindo! Oh yeah!" Sanami said cheerfully. "I thought about it in the racks, and I think I've figured it out!"

"Figured what out?"

"Why he's better then you!"

"Why's that?"

"Because he takes Go for what it is," Sanami reasoned. "A game."

"That's true…but that is not why he's better then me."

"Maybe that's why you're playing so bad. Remember…I found out about your slump awhile ago. Before we even met. I think you've been playing bad because you take it too seriously."

"I am not playing poorly."

"Are too! You're losing to me, and I'm a beginner!"

"I'm not even getting into this."

"Hey, I'm seriously trying to get you out of your slump!" Sanami snapped. "And all you do is ignore me! Thanks a lot!"

"Sanami, I'm not in the mood."

"Now, as I was saying," Sanami ignored Akira's last comment and continued. "Maybe, if you played Go like it was a game, then you'd be able to beat Hikaru!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You never have any fun playing Go," Sanami told him and Akira stopped. "It's obvious. You sit at your dumb table during the Go Club and read your stupid books. You never have any fun."

"I'm practicing extremely hard, I don't have time to-"

"I bet that Hikaru really, really likes Go!" Sanami said excitedly, as if she had just made a breakthrough.

"I like Go too!"

"No you don't. Not anymore! All you want to do is beat Hikaru, and that's taken the fun out of it! You don't have any fun playing anymore!"

Akira stopped and looked at his feet. Was what Sanami was saying true? He retraced his mind. Playing games by himself, with others at the Go Parlor, and even with his father… Sanami had a point. Go never longer held any sort of fun for him. He didn't have the passion that he had remembered… It was…slightly odd.

"I'm done Akira! Are you done?"

"Yes…but I'm not coming out…"

"Why not?"

"This is ridiculous."

"Come on! Let me see!"

Akira gave a long sigh, then opened the door and saw Sanami waiting for him.

Sanami obviously was a veteran shopper, as not only had she returned quickly, she had been able to find pieces that matched each other perfectly in matters of minutes. Sanami now bore a completely white outfit. A white tube top that cut off above her navel, a short white skirt, tall white platform boots, a white leather jacket, and white hoop earrings. Her black sunglasses made her entire outfit scream a sort of punkish look, but her childish grin set that off quite quickly. "I knew it! I knew it! That outfit is perfect!"

Akira grimaced as he looked at himself in the mirror. His black hair was now topped with a black baseball cap and he had on that ripped tee shirt from before. But the tee shirt was covered by a black leather jacket and extremely baggy black jeans that Akira had to hold up by the pockets to keep them from falling down. Sanami, however, looked completely delighted.

"You look awesome!" She giggled, ramming the cap onto Akira's head backwards. "This is the GREATEST! We are ready to fulfill the rest of our mission!"

"I'm not staying in these clothes…" Akira said, walking as fast as he could in the black jeans back to the changing room. "I'm changing right now. I look ridiculous."

"Keiko! We're buying these and wearing them out! Can I have a pair of scissors?"

"What? You're actually buying this horrible outfit?" Akira asked, eyes wide. "I don't have any money!"

"I told you, it's my treat!"

Sanami was handing Keiko a credit card, and Keiko was running it through the machine, gazing over the clothes they were wearing and typing something into the cash register. "Grab your clothes Akira!" Sanami told him, opening her large white bag. "Put them in here! C'mon! We've got to hurry! It's already past noon!"

"What does it matter?" Akira grumbled, walking back the stall and gathering his clothes. "And can I please have a belt?"

"I told you!" Sanami snapped. "We're on an extremely tight schedule! We have to be _there_ at one o' clock sharp!"

"Where is there?"

"Here you go Sanami," Keiko gave her the card back and smiled. "Have fun!"

"We will Keiko! C'mon Akira! We're going!"

"Going where?"

"There!"

"WHERE IS THERE?"

* * *

"Here is there!"

Akira could not believe his eyes. It was almost one, and Sanami and Akira now stood, smack dab in front of bar.

"What are we doing here?"

"This place is supposedly full of shady characters!" Sanami said overdramatically.

"Where did you hear that?"

"The internet!"

"And you believed it…"

"Now!" Sanami smiled and put her hand on Akira's shoulder. "Here's the plan! We're going to walk in and act all bad! Demand drinks, you know the type!"

"But we're minors!"

"Why do you think I had us buy these clothes?" Sanami asked, raising her eyebrow. "We look totally older then thirteen!" Akira did not bring up the fact that Sanami didn't look any older, and neither did he. "So! Here's your part! We're going to walk in, and I'll be hanging all over you, because I'm your Punk Whore!"

"My what?"

"So, then you'll make a huge scene and we'll demand drinks and gambling!"

"I doubt there's gambling at a bar…"

"And after that, if he challenges us, we'll reveal our secret identities! Then, we'll get all over the tabloids! It'll be so awesome!"

"Sanami…we're not tabloid material. We're not movie stars…"

"But we're famous, right?"

"Sanami, this plan is complete fantasy," Akira tried to reason with her. "There's no way it's going to work."

"Just do it!" Sanami pouted, then grabbed Akira's arm. "Let's go!"

Akira couldn't believe he was doing this. Sanami's brute force dragged him into the bar, where only about four people were sitting around at the tables. Mostly elderly men, or those who looked like they were stopping in for a bit after lunch. The bartender stood behind the counter and raised his eyebrows as the two, or more appropriately, Sanami came waltzing into the bar.

"Uhh…are you lost?" he asked.

"Akira! Your line!" Sanami whispered. She had already obviously put on attitude, shaking her hips and winking to the men at the tables. Akira thought she looked ridiculous. "Akira!"

"I'm not going to say anything!"

"Fine! I'll say it!" Sanami waltzed up to the counter and sat down, throwing Akira into the seat next to her. She leaned all over him, making Akira blush crimson. "Hey bartender! We want drinks!"

"Umm…I'm going to have to see some I.D."

"Drinks and craps!" Sanami insisted. "My honey here wants to gamble his paycheck away!"

"We…don't have gambling here ma'am."

"So…you refuse to serve us, eh?" Sanami cackled. Obviously, Akira thought, she had been waiting for this. "Well! I'll have you know, that we happen to be none other then…" She whipped off her sunglasses. "Sanami Matsu'ura and…!"

Akira stopped, got up, and started to walk away, but Sanami was took quick. She whipped off his glasses and shouted, "Akira Toya!"

"…What?"

"I knew it! He's shocked! Tabloids here we come!"

"Matsu'ura? The billionaire? And Toya? As in Toya Meijin?"

"Yep!" Sanami nodded. "I bet you're shocked to find us here in a bar! Rebellious aren't we?"

"I'm sorry, we don't serve minors."

"HUH?"

"Please leave."

* * *

"Man! Why didn't he call the Police? Or Public Safety? OR AT LEAST OUR PARENTS?" Sanami had been complaining to Akira all the way back from the bar about the bar tender's low reaction. Akira had been expecting this, but obviously, Sanami thought the entire bar would gasp in some sort of huge disgust. "This bites! Do you still think we'll make the tabloids?"

"No…" Akira sighed. "Sanami, we're not going to get in the tabloids…"

"Okay, maybe not front page, but we'll at least of some sort article, right?"

"Why do you even want to get in the tabloids?" Akira asked, narrowing his eyebrows. "And why did you need me to fulfill this ridiculous ambition?"

"Because!" Sanami stuck out her tongue. "It's fun! And I wanted to do it with you, my best friend!"

"Fun…huh?" Akira sighed, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, it's almost two o' clock, I think I'll be leaving, thank you."

"Okay…" Sanami sighed. "You can get home okay, right?"

"Yes, I can."

"Thanks for the day Akira!" Sanami smiled widely. "Let's do something again!"

"Yes…yes…now…give me my clothes."

"Oh yeah!" Sanami rifled through her bag and handed Akira a wad of clothing. "You can change in that restroom over there!" She pointed to a building and Akira nodded. "Bye Akira!"

And with that, Sanami ran off, in very high spirits, leaving Akira alone, looking very silly in a pair of black jeans.

* * *

"Hey Akira! Guess what? The funniest thing happened when I got home! I realized I still had your pants!"

Akira's eyes were bloodshot as he sat in his room, struggling with the black jeans and the phone pressed against his ear by his shoulder. "Yes! Yes I noticed that! My mother nearly fainted when she saw these pants!"

"Hey! Black jeans are cool!" Sanami laughed. "Oh and guess what? I think we might make the tabloids after all!"

"Why's that?"

"Because I ran into some guy with a camera on my way home! I think he was following us!"

"Sanami…he was not following us."

"Just you wait Akira!" Sanami pouted. "We're making the tabloids for sure! Just wait until tomorrow!"

* * *

"Funny…" Akira smirked as he stood next to Sanami the next day in school. Sanami was frowning at a Tabloid magazine. "I can't believe it. We didn't make front page."

"Shaddup."

* * *

The End! The Longest chapter of the story so far! I hope you enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun writing it.

Oh, did I mention we're already half-way through the story? That's right! This story contains eight chapters! The next one's going to be fun too! Don't miss it!

-Sammy


	5. White Heat

Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter Five of Gray Stones!

* * *

And yet, even after the two's incident in the bar, the week went on like it always did. Akira and Sanami sat next to each other in homeroom. They went to the Go Club together. Akira studied games while Sanami talked endlessly.

But slowly, Akira was noticing a light change in Sanami.

"Miss Matsu'ura…could you read from page 67 please?"

"Yes, sensei!" Sanami nodded, standing up to read from the book. Akira shot her a small smile.

Sanami was growing more accustomed to authority and respect for others. She was starting to think of others before herself.

"Akira!" Sanami shouted to Akira, running up to him in the hall. "Akira, you're coming to my house tomorrow, right?"

It was Friday, and that meant Akira was in for another Saturday at Sanami's house. He sighed, then nodded.

"Yay! Then I've got loads of fun stuff to do!" She laughed, jumping up and down. "So you'd better be there or else!"

Akira took back that comment about "thinking of others before herself"…

"What kind of "fun things"?" Akira asked as the two walked along together in the hall. "Don't tell me it's another escapade to get in the tabloids."

"Nahh, I gave up on that plan," Sanami shrugged. "This one is just for fun! And we won't even have to leave the house!"

"No going into frightening stores?" Akira asked, narrowing his eyes. Sanami nodded rigorously.

"It'll be good, clean fun!" she assured him. "After all, we can't just play Gray Go all the time! We have to do other fun stuff!"

Akira would have preferred that they not play Gray Go at all…

"So this weekend is going to be the best!" Sanami smiled, walking outside the school doors for lunch. She stopped and wiped her brow. "Man, it got hot really fast."

It was true. After the short-lived rainy season the city had endured, a sudden heat wave had come over them. The weather report said it was only going to last through the weekend, but Akira still wished the school would let them wear their summer uniform.

"All the more perfect!" Sanami grinned at the white sun in the sky. "For this weekend, I mean."

"Sanami…what are you planning?" Akira asked, steadily becoming worried.

"Just you wait until tomorrow!" Sanami smiled flirtatiously and poked Akira's nose, making him back away slightly. With that, she ran off, Akira sighing and following her.

* * *

"Mother, Father, I'm leaving!" Akira called to his parents that Saturday afternoon as he pulled on his shoes. Akira had dressed for the heat in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. "I'll be back by four!"

"Akira…"

Akira stopped as he heard his father's voice from behind him. He turned his head around to see none other then his father sitting in a chair, reading a book. "Yes, father?"

"Where are you going every Saturday afternoon?" he asked.

Akira felt his face grow pale. He could've just said to a friend's house…but then his father would ask which friend…then he could just say Sanami Matsu'ura…but what if he asked what they were doing?

Akira knew his father wouldn't approve of the fact that Akira was putting up with playing a ridiculous imitation of Go. In fact, Akira was afraid that his father might get angry. It was…better to lie…

"Umm…to the Go Parlor," Akira responded shakily. "Just to go over some games and meet a few people."

"Every Saturday afternoon?" his father asked, flipping a page in his book. "You haven't been taking the car."

"Uhh…yes, I usually walk." This part was true. To avoid suspicion of his father's driver, he had walked to Sanami's house every day. The trek was long and a bit of an annoyance, but better then being caught.

"_Every _Saturday afternoon?" his father repeated.

"Umm…yes."

"All right then…" his father frowned. "Go ahead."

"Goodbye, father," Akira said, ducking out the door as quickly as he could. The second Akira was out the door, his father put down his book and sighed.

"I do wonder why Akira would have to keep a secret from me…" he frowned, shaking his head. "After all…"

"_You saw Akira in a bar, Toriyama-san?" Akira's father asked, raising an eyebrow in odd suspicion. He was talking to a friend over the phone, and the friend had brought him a strange piece of information. "Are you sure it was Akira?"_

"_I was there having a drink with a friend of mine," Toriyama-san responded over the receiver. "I'm sure it was him. He was also with a young lady with long white blonde hair. Do you know her?"_

"_No…I've never heard of such a girl," Akira's father frowned. "What was he doing there?"_

"_He didn't say anything; the girl did most of the talking," Toriyama-san told him. "She demanded drinks, then revealed their identities…"_

"_Demanded drinks?" asked Akira's father, looking very confused._

"_It was all a bit of a joke," Toriyama-san sighed. "And I think Akira knew it. He didn't say anything and walked out pretty quickly after the bartender told them to leave. The young lady seemed to be taking it pretty seriously…"_

"_Did you perchance catch the name of this young lady?"_

"_Mmm…oh yes! Now I remember!" responded Toriyama-san, finally remembering the name of the girl. "Listen to this! Sanami Matsu'ura! Gosho Matsu'ura's daughter!"_

"_Gosho Matsu'ura's daughter?" Akira's father asked, frowning. "Thank you Toriyama-san…"_

"_My pleasure sensei. I just hope I didn't stir up anything I shouldn't have."_

"_No, no," Akira's father shook his head. "I think this is actually for the best."_

"I do wonder…" Akira's father frowned, then put down his book. "Where Ms. Matsu'ura lives."

* * *

Akira had finally made it to Sanami's house and now stood in front of the large white doors, ringing the doorbell. Usually, Sanami had sprinted to the door before he had even finished pressing his finger to the button, but today, there was no sign of her.

He pressed the bell again, and the door swung open.

"I'm here Sa…" Akira stopped to see none other then Sanami's butler greeting him at the door.

"Ahh, Akira-sama, this way please," he smiled, opening the door for Akira. Akira walked through the door and replaced his shoes for his pair of slippers which Sanami had written "Bestest Bud" on the bottoms of. "Sanami-sama is in the backyard waiting for you."

"This can't be good," Akira muttered to himself.

"Sanami?" Akira pushed a sliding door open to find himself in an immense backyard. A golf course, a tennis court, a gigantic pool, and what looked to be a barbecue patio all filled the gigantic space. He sighed…this was probably the "small" backyard. "Sanami, where are you?"

"I'm over here, Akira!"

Akira looked over to see Sanami's head bob out of pool, her practically white hair soaked. She started to swim over to him, then grabbed a pool ladder and hoisted herself up.

Sanami was, obviously, wearing a swim suit. Most likely designer, Akira thought. It was a white two piece with two thin straps that connected at the back of her neck. She looked extremely pleased with herself. "Here you are! Finally!"

"Sanami, what are you doing?" Akira asked, fearing the worse.

"Swimming! It's so hot and all," Sanami pointed to the blazing white sun. "Why don't you take a swim too?"

"No thank you…" Akira frowned.

"Awww, why not?"

"I don't want to…" he blushed. "I'd rather not waste my time swimming. And it isn't even real swimming. All you do is bob up and down in the water."

"Man! You are SUCH a nerd!" Sanami frowned. "Do you even know how to swim?"

"Yes, I know how to swim," said Akira, his frown growing even more. "But I'd rather not."

"It's so hot!" Sanami commented. "Don't tell me all that water isn't inviting?"

"I don't even have a swimsuit," Akira reminded her.

"No prob!" Sanami laughed and pointed over to a deck chair behind Akira. A black towel and a pair of black swim trunks sat on it. "I bought you one, since I knew you wouldn't remember to bring one!"

"You never _told_ me to bring one!"

"You can get changed in the bathroom!" Sanami said, pointing to the sliding door. "It's to the right of that door."

"Sanami, I'm not going swimming," Akira said matter-of-factly, sitting down in a vacant deck chair. "If this is your "big plan of fun" then I'm not impressed."

"It _is_ fun! You're just a stick in the mud!" Sanami pouted and then gave a wide smirk. "I bet you're just embarrassed cause I'm so gorgeous!"

Akira blushed crimson and a scowl decorated his face. "Don't flatter yourself!"

"You think I'm sexy!" Sanami teased him, swerving her hips back and forth. "You innocent little boy!"

"I don't have to sit here for this," Akira stood up, his entire face growing red. "If all you're going to do is get lungs full of water, I'm leaving."

"Hey wait!" Sanami frowned. "We haven't played our game of Go yet! If you leave you'll be breaking your promise!"

"I don't care!"

"If you leave now then you'll have to come every Saturday for the rest of your LIFE!"

"What if I just stop coming?" Akira raised his voice.

"You won't stop coming!" Sanami shouted, her fists by her sides. "You'll come just like you've been coming for the past few months! You'll come because we're best friends!"

Akira stopped and turned around to face Sanami. She was frowning, and looked hurt. Akira thought to himself, a confused expression on his face. Could it be that she really thought of them as best friends?

_Were_ they best friends?

"Fine," Akira grumbled. "I'll stay."

"Banzai!" Sanami cheered and threw her arms around Akira's neck. "Now go and get into your swimsuit!"

"Not fine," Akira said. "I'm staying here on this chair."

"Fine, fine!" Sanami smirked. "Suit yourself. But it _sure_ is hot out here!"

"Yes…" Akira muttered, sitting down in the deck chair. "It is hot."

"_Really_ hot…" Sanami sighed, fanning herself.

"Very."

"I bet you could fry an egg on the asphalt!" she sighed, wiping her brow. "It's just _that_ hot!"

"…extremely."

Sanami pouted, then turned her back on Akira and jumped into the water. "Woah! Nice and cool in here!"

"I'm sure it is."

"Cool enough to chill ice cream!"

"Of course."

"Akira, you're so selfish!" Sanami finally exploded.

"Me?" Akira scoffed. "Selfish? Look in a mirror sometimes!"

"Yes! You're selfish!" Sanami nodded. "All you care about is yourself! You don't even begin to think how _I_ feel!"

"That's ridiculous. I don't need to think about how you feel. You think about how you feel enough for the both of us."

"Fine, be a retard!" Sanami said, bobbing under the water.

"Don't say 'retard'. It's crude," Akira sighed, picking up a book from his bag and beginning to read.

Sanami paused for a minute or so and then a grin came over her face. "Hey Akira! Are you thirsty?"

Akira paused and looked over at Sanami. "Actually, yeah. I am pretty thirsty."

"Okay, okay. You're right, I'm being stupid. I'll have Yuko get you something to drink," Sanami told him. She then turned to the door and screamed: "YUUUKKOOO!"

"Yes Sanami-sama?" a pretty maid with brown hair poked her head out the door. "Do you need something?"

"Come over here for a second," Sanami motioned to the maid and she walked over to the blonde girl in the pool. Sanami whispered something in her ear and Yuko nodded, sighing.

"Are you sure Sanami-san?" she asked, skeptical.

"Positive! He's really thirsty! And he's hungry too I bet!" Sanami smiled.

"Actually, I'm not hungry Sanami…" Akira began, but it was too late. Yuko was already gone inside the house. "Sanami, what did you tell that maid?"

"I just told her to get you something to drink and something to eat," Sanami smiled. "Oh! I told her to get me something to drink too."

"Is that…it?" Akira told her, narrowing his eyes. Sanami smiled and nodded.

"That's it!" she said, nodding and getting out of the pool. She sat across the small table from Akira, waiting for their food and drink. "Should be coming any second now."

Right on cue, Yuko walked out with two trays. One contained a pitcher of iced lemonade with a glass and a small dish of ice cream.

The other had hot chocolate and steaming Onion Soup.

"For you miss," Yuko gave Sanami the lemonade and ice cream. "And Toya-sama…this is for you." She put the tray of soup and hot chocolate in front of the flabbergasted Akira. Sanami was already pouring herself a tall glass of lemonade by the time Yuko had left through the door.

"Ahhh!" Sanami smiled as she downed the glass. "That sure is tasty! C'mon Akira, drink up! You said you were thirsty!"

"Sanami, you're going straight to hell, you know that?" Akira muttered under his breath as he looked at the steaming food and drink in front of him. "I can't drink this! It's scalding, and it's way too hot outside."

"You _said_ you wanted something to drink," Sanami reminded him, a manipulative tone in her voice. "So I got you something to drink. Don't be rude!"

"Give me a bit of your lemonade," Akira told her. "You can't possibly drink that whole pitcher."

"Sure I can!" Sanami grinned, pouring herself another full glass of lemonade. As she drank it, Akira felt his temple throbbing in anger. "Ahh! That sure is refreshing!"

Akira was slowly reaching for Sanami's ice cream, only to have her snatch it away as well and start to eat it up with the spoon that was stuck into it. She ate the whole bowl in under three minutes. "Man! That sure is good! But I've eaten too fast. All I've got left is one last glass of lemonade," she told him, pouring the last of the lemonade into the glass. She held it up and looked through it. "I might be persuaded to part with it though…"

Akira frowned. He knew where this was going. "Drink your idiotic lemonade. I'm not going in the pool with you."

"Oh c'mon!" Sanami frowned. "Don't you want the lemonade?"

"You can't manipulate me, Sanami," Akira told her quite plainly, returning to his book. "There is no way I'm getting in that pool. No matter how many fancy tricks you use."

"Fine!" Sanami growled, drinking the last of the lemonade vindictively. "I'm going to keep swimming!" She looked over at Akira and walked over to the pool. "Even if you're being stupid and selfish!"

Akira ignored Sanami, and she jumped into the pool once again, dampening the deck. She was splashing around as usual, and Akira continued to read.

"Aki-Akira! Akira, help me!"

Akira looked up from his book at the cry for help to see Sanami struggling in the water, holding her side. "Akira! I-I got a cramp! I can't swim!"

"A cramp?" Akira cried.

"Yeah! They say you're supposed to wait thirty minutes after eating to go swimming, but I always thought that was just a piece of crap!" Sanami cried out, her head falling below the water. "Akira! Help!" She cried out before going under.

"SANAMI!" Akira shouted, jumping to his feet and running into the water. He jumped in to see Sanami slowly going downwards in the water.

"Don't worry Sanami! I'll save you!" he told her, grabbing her around the waist. "I've got you! Don't worry, Sanami! I've got you!"

"Heh heh…I think you've got it wrong Akira!" Akira looked down to see Sanami's head surface above the water, a smirk on her face. The next thing he knew, Sanami had her arms around him and he was trapped. "It's me who's got you!"

"H-Huh?" Akira asked, dumbstruck.

"Tricked ya!" Sanami winked. "Guess I got you in the pool after all!"

Akira was silent. He looked at Sanami, then down at his wet clothes, then back at Sanami. His head throbbed and he gritted his teeth in anger. "SANAMI, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Haha! Catch me if you can!" she called, swimming out of his grasp and towards the other side of the pool. Akira turned and swam after her in hot pursuit.

"Come back here, Sanami! I'm going to kill you!"

* * *

"Akira…you're drenched."

"Heh…yes father. I fell in a rather large puddle on the way back," Akira told his father when he arrived back the house, still wet.

"A large puddle? I see…" his father nodded. "Well…go upstairs and dry off. Your mother should have dinner ready in about an hour."

"Yes father," Akira nodded and walked upstairs, doing his best not to get water on the stairs.

Akira walked back into his room, drying his hair off with a towel. He felt bad about lying to his father, but he couldn't reveal that he was secretly going to Sanami's house every Saturday. He would only get angry with him.

Akira sat down at his desk and gave a sigh. Sanami…was absolutely impossible.

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up, "Hello?"

"Hey there best bud!" Sanami's voice chirped over the phone, making Akira grimace. "Liked our underwater excursion today?"

"No. I'm hanging up now," Akira said, moving to hang up the phone.

"No, wait!" Sanami cried. "Don't hang up!" Akira sighed and picked up the phone again.

"What?"

"I wanted to say sorry for pretending to drown," Sanami muttered. "Kind of lame, I know. Do you forgive me?"

"No," Akira snapped. "That wasn't funny, Sanami."

"But…" Sanami's voice perked up over the phone. "I was really happy to see how you jumped in to save me. It made me feel really good Akira." Akira paused, a little dumbstruck by this honest expression of feeling. "Thanks for being such a good friend."

Akira paused, then smiled slightly. "Sure," he told her, smiling.

And Akira really did mean it. He guessed that he did subconsciously care about this selfish, spoiled girl. Maybe they were friends after all. Maybe they were _best_ friends after all. He wasn't really sure, but for now, he felt it was best to just accept the compliment Sanami had paid him.

"Anytime."

* * *

Yay! Chapter 5 is completed! I'm so happy:D Please review with your thoughts! I love the reviewers for this story! They're so smart!

Until then,

Ciao for now!

-Sammy


	6. Black Tunnels

Gray Stones

Hey there all the lovely readers out there! I'm back again with Chapter 6 of "Gray Stones"! I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter! I know I will! It's a really fun one, that's for sure!

Okay, so don't forget to review! The story's coming towards its end (6/8) so tune in and have fun, okay?

* * *

Black Tunnels

* * *

"Do you remember when we first met?" Sanami asked Akira. The two were seated in Sanami's limousine, Akira looking very uncomfortable, and Sanami dressed in a white strapless dress with black lining. On her feet were white platform boots, and she wore black sunglasses.

"Yes…" Akira said. "It's a painful memory though."

"Why? Cause I held you hostage in my limo?"

"Yes, most people enjoy freedom, you know. Why are you bringing this up now?" Akira asked, frowning and looking down from his Go book.

"I was just thinking about it," Sanami said, grinning. "You haven't been in my limo in a while, you know."

"I see you're just as outward about your money as ever," Akira said, eyeing the designer outfit.

"Hey! This outfit only cost 400,000 yen!" she wrinkled her nose. "And I actually have a reason this time, you know!"

"What reason is that?" Akira asked.

Sanami sighed, taking off her sunglasses and opening up the compartment in front of her. Akira looked confused as Sanami pulled out a black formal blazer and put it on. She also took off her platforms and replaced them with black high heels. She looked quite professional now. "What are you doing?" Akira asked.

"The reason I brought you along today is because Daddy is having a business lunch party," she told him. "But he can't be there. He's in England right now, and I have to represent him along with Kosuke."

Akira frowned. It was obvious that Sanami was hurt by this. Not because she had been forced to go to the lunch, but because her father had not even bothered to show up. She was supposed to act in his stead when she probably hadn't seen him for months.

"Why…did you bring me along?" Akira asked.

"As my date of course!" Sanami said, winking flirtatiously. "Why do you think I told you to dress nice over the phone?" Akira was dressed in a black suit and tie, at Sanami's request, but had kept the pants to long shorts as not to look like a little boy playing dress up in his father's clothes. "You're the perfect date! Akira Toya, son of Toya Meijin! Go prodigy!"

"So you brought me along for the image…?" Akira asked, looking suspiciously at Sanami.

"Jeez, don't getyour boxers in a bunch," Sanami frowned. "I brought you because I wanted to. It'll be a really boring party and everything, but you'll make it fun."

Akira sighed. _'I'd make it fun…?'_ Sanami was a strange girl. Akira didn't consider himself a comedian, or someone who made people laugh around him. He knew he was on the serious side. But, for some reason, Sanami found his personality fun and exciting. Maybe it was because he was her scapegoat for her "games" and "fun".

"Oh! We're here!" Sanami announced as she looked out the window of the limo. Akira looked out as well, but couldn't see anything behind Sanami's head. The door was opened by the driver, and Sanami stepped out, followed by Akira.

Akira found himself standing in front of a huge building that seemed to be some sort of banquet hall or theater. There were many important looking people with drinks standing outside, talking and laughing with one another. A red rug stood in front of the entrance, and Akira was reminded of Award Shows in America he had seen on TV.

"C'mon!" snapped Sanami, grabbing Akira's arm and jerking him out of his observations. "I see Kosuke up there near the entrance!"

Akira looked up as Sanami dragged him along and saw that Kosuke Shibahime was indeed standing in front of the building, talking to a man and his wife. "Yes, Makamura-san. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation you gave. Matsu'ura-san did as well, I'm sure."

"Glad to hear it!" Makamura laughed. "I had my people working on that presentation for days! Has Matsu'ura-san given you a response to my offer yet?"

"I'm afraid that Matsu'ura-san is still debating over his decision," Kosuke told him, smiling. "But, just as a personal opinion, I think that the odds look very much in your favor."

"Heh!" Makamura gave a triumphant grin. "Glad to hear it, Shibahime-kun! I'll get back to you later. Have I introduced you to my niece yet? She's about your age, you know."

"If she's anything like your lovely wife, I would be happy to meet her," bowed Kosuke, offering the compliment to Makamura's wife, who smiled.

"What a polite young man. I think Chieko would like him," she smiled.

"This always happens to Kosuke," Sanami whispered to Akira. Akira looked over at Sanami as she rolled her eyes. "I kind of feel bad for him. He's Daddy's assistant, and so big business men are always trying to get their daughters or their nieces with him. But, as far as I know, he's never been out with any of them. Maybe he's queer…"

"Sanami…" Akira muttered, looking at the girl with a reproachful look. "It's rude to talk about someone's relationships behind their back. He might be married."

"Nah," Sanami shook her head, winking. "He's single. But he's getting up there! Did you know he's only eight months from thirty?"

"People getting married later is more common nowadays," Akira reminded her, but Sanami didn't pay him any mind.

"Sanami!" Kosuke called to the girl, and Makamura-san and his wife looked over at the girl. Sanami gave a surprisingly nice smile and walked up towards Kosuke, forcing Akira's arm around hers. "There you are. I was wondering when you would get here."

"I apologize for being late," Sanami said in a tone so sweet Akira knew she was faking it. "I lost track of the time for a bit."

"Sanami-chan!" Makamura's wife cooed over the girl. "You're looking as beautiful as ever! I wish I had a daughter like you."

'_No you don't…'_ Akira thought to himself, narrowing his eyes at Sanami.

"How's your father, Sanami?" Makamura-san asked. Sanami smiled.

"Daddy is currently away in England," she informed them. "I'm here in his stead. He loved your presentation, by the way. Couldn't stop talking about it at meal times."

"And who's this young man?" Makamura's wife asked, looking at Akira. "He looks familiar. Is he one of your many suitors?"

"No," Sanami laughed. "You flatter me, Makamura-san. This is a friend from my school. Akira Toya."

"Akira Toya? The Go prodigy?" Makamura-san asked. "A befitting husband for someone like you, Sanami-chan!"

"But I still want to introduce you to my son," Makamura's wife added, elbowing her husband in the ribs. "He's only a few years older then you."

"If he's anything like his charming father, then it would be my pleasure," Sanami smiled at the two and they laughed.

"What a wonderful young lady you are, Sanami-chan," Makamura's wife laughed daintily. "Well, we should be going. Yuusuke here still has to talk to a few friends of ours."

"Shibahime-kun, Sanami-chan, goodbye," Makamura-san nodded. "And to you too, Toya-kun. A pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, sir," Akira said, bowing. The two walked off, and Kosuke and Sanami gave twin sighs.

"Thank God you came Sanami," Kosuke sighed. "Those people were driving me crazy."

Akira was surprised. Kosuke was being rather friendly with Sanami. When he had been chastising her before, he had seemed strict and unfriendly. However, Sanami and he now seemed like friends.

"I don't blame you," Sanami said, sticking out her tongue. "Trying to set you up again, I see?"

"Same with you," Kosuke sighed, drinking from his glass.

"Did your father really like his presentation?" Akira asked the two.

"Hated it," said Sanami.

"He's going to reject it tomorrow," informed Kosuke.

"Huh?" Akira looked at them, confused. "Then why did you compliment him on it?"

"It's always a good thing to keep the clients happy," Kosuke remarked. "That way, we can turn him down gracefully, and take advantage of his business in the future. It's a cardinal rule, you see."

"So…he didn't talk about it at meal times?" Akira asked Sanami, and she narrowed her eyes.

"I haven't had a meal with my father since I was four," she told Akira, and he fell over. "Yeah, I'm used to making up crap like that."

"You were so polite before," Akira said, getting up from his spot on the floor. "I was getting hopeful."

"Sorry to burst your bubble!" Sanami grinned, winking. "Nope! You know the real me Akira! It PAINS me to be that prissy!"

"Shibahime-san! Sanami-chan!"

"Uh oh…"

"Here they come again."

Akira looked up to see yet another older looking business man with his beautiful wife walking towards them. Behind them was a girl who looked to be in twenties with short cut light brunette hair and black eyes. She was dressed in a plain black dress with no jewelry, as if not to draw attention to herself.

"Ahhh! Koyanagi-san!" Sanami smiled. "Pleased to see you again! Father told me to say how pleased he was with your development team!"

"Really?" Koyanagi-san asked, brushing his greasy graying hair back. "Glad to hear it! I've got the best development team in the business, you know."

"Unfortunately, he's making cut backs soon. He said that he really hopes he doesn't have to let your workers go," Sanami frowned, looking very upset. "I'm really worried, Koyanagi-san!"

"Oh, you're so sweet, Sanami-chan," Koyangi-san smiled. "At least I know that your Father is pained about the cut backs he's making. It's good to find someone who cares about his employees."

"Who's this boy?" Koyangi's wife asked, looking at Akira. Akira was quick to introduce himself.

"Akira Toya, ma'am. Pleased to make your acquaintance," he bowed and the woman gasped.

"You're the famous youth polo player aren't you?"

Akira facefaulted. This woman was either not well read on games in Japan, or was just stupid. "Th-that's Go ma'am," he corrected politely.

"Of course!" the woman nodded, smiling.

"And…umm…who are you?" Akira asked the girl behind them, and she blushed.

"Oh, this is Etsuko Teshima, my secretary," Koyanagi-san said absentmindedly. "She's of no consequence, I assure you."

'How rude…' Akira thought to himself, but Sanami and Kosuke said nothing. In fact, Kosuke hadn't said anything for the duration of the conversation. His eyes were locked on Koyanagi-san.

"And how's that new line you're coming out with doing?" Kosuke finally spoke.

"Umm…" Koyangi-san frowned. "I-I haven't come out with a line recently. Our processors are still enjoying the fruit of the profits we've received from the release last quarter."

'How odd…' Akira thought, frowning. He glanced at Koyangi-san, then his wife, and then at Teshima-san. Akira frowned as he saw a red blush come over Teshima's face.

"Matsu'ura-san is very excited about the new additions to your product team," Kosuke told him. Akira glanced again at Teshima-san to see her blush redden even more.

"I haven't made any new additions…are you feeling all right Shibahime-kun?"

"Well, I must be going," Kosuke finally said, smiling. "It's almost half past the hour, and I have to be somewhere in five minutes."

"Where?" Koyanagi-san asked, already very confused.

"Meeting another business partner," Kosuke said. "Good day, Koyanagi-san."

"Shibahime!" Koyanagi-san called after Kosuke just as he reached the door of the building. "Have I introduced you to my daughter? She currently single, you know. Very pretty. Was selected as a Cherry Blossom Princess at the last festival, you know. She's only a few years younger then you."

"Ahh, Arisa-san?" Kosuke asked, turning his head around. "If she's anything like your lovely wife, I'd love to meet her."

Kosuke turned back around and then walked slowly up the stairs through the door of the building, leaving Sanami, Akira, and Teshima-san alone with the Koyanagis. "Sanami-san, how are your violin lessons?"

"Oh just lovely," Sanami smiled. Akira looked at Sanami with a suspicious look. He remembered an exchange he had with her at school one day during morning break.

"_What's that weird music?" Sanami asked._

"_It's the band. They practice in the morning, you know," Akira told her. _

"_I hate music," Sanami frowned. _

"_You don't play an instrument?" Akira asked her. "I suppose that's not so uncommon, but I've seen a Grand Piano in your house."_

"_Nah," Sanami said, shaking her head. "It takes too much time. I play the Kazoo though. I'm also not too bad on the soup cans."_

Sanami was obviously lying about her "violin lessons". Akira sighed to himself. "Something wrong Akira?" Sanami asked, glowering at him, as if realizing what he was thinking.

"N-nothing…" he said, trying to force a smile. "Just a little hot."

"Umm…sir?" Teshima-san piped up, and Akira saw that her voice was timid and small. "I-I'm hot myself. I was wondering if I could go to the restroom to freshen up and cool off a bit."

"All right," said Koyanagi-san gruffly. "But don't be more then twenty minutes, you got that?"

"Y-yes sir," Teshima nodded, bowing. She quickly ran up the steps and through the door. Akira looked out past her, a suspicious look in her eye.

"Sanami! I just remembered," said Akira, smiling at her and taking her arm. "Don't you have to meet your father's friend inside in a few minutes?"

"Huh?" Sanami asked, looking at Akira.

"Silly, you've forgotten," Akira laughed. "_Remember_? You've got to _meet _someone _inside_."

Sanami stared at Akira for a second, and then laughed. "Of course! How could I have forgotten? Silly me! I'm sorry Koyanagi-san, but I must be going," she told him, bowing to both him and his wife. "My father directly requested I speak to a friend of his, and he should be leaving soon. I'll find you later and we can finish our chat!"

"That sounds lovely Sanami-chan," Koyanagi-san smiled. "We'll see you later." With that, the couple walked off, and Sanami turned to Akira as he led her towards the door of the building.

"Hey Akira, what's up?"

"We need to follow Teshima-san," he told her. "Something's going on between her and Kosuke."

"What do you mean?" Sanami asked.

"I think Teshima and Kosuke may be passing information to one another," he told her. "About your father's business and Koyanagi's. Did you notice how Kosuke was acting strange before?"

"Uhh…I guess."

"I think he was speaking in some sort of code," Akira informed her warily. "Telling her when and where to meet him."

"Passing info? Kosuke?" Sanami asked. "No way! He's totally loyal to Daddy!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Akira told her. "There she is!" he pointed to Teshima, who was currently walking towards the back of the room. "Let's follow her…"

The two slunk through the crowd, avoiding detection and following Teshima to her destination. Teshima looked nervous and kept looking from side to side. Finally, she ducked through a hallway and turned a corner.

Akira and Sanami followed. "We've made it," he whispered to Sanami. "Her footsteps have stopped. The hallway's dark," he observed. True, almost all the lights in the dim hallway were off. It was obvious that no one went into this hallway during the party. "Let's look in." Sanami nodded to her companion, and the two peered around the corner to see none other then Kosuke and Teshima.

Kissing.

"Oh my God!" Akira almost cried out, but lowered his voice to a rasp in Sanami's ear. It was true, Kosuke and Teshima were lip locked and embracing one another. Kosuke was holding Teshima's waist, and Akira gulped as he saw his hand up her dress. Teshima's hands were ravaging through Kosuke's usual pristine hair. His glasses were fogging up, so, when the couple broke their kiss, he took the glasses off and put them on a nearby table. He threw himself at Teshima again and Akira grabbed Sanami and threw both of them around the corner.

"Way to go Kosuke!" Sanami whispered, cheering to herself. "I knew he wasn't gay all along! Passing info…" Sanami giggled. "Looks like info's not all they're passing, if you know what I mean…"

"Sanami, let's leave! This is embarrassing!" Akira rasped.

"Wait! We're getting to the best part!" Sanami insisted, spinning her head around as the couple broke. Kosuke lowered his hand from Teshima's dress and she broke apart from him and turned around, crying. "Woah…she's sad. Maybe they're breaking up."

"Etsuko…" Kosuke murmured. "What's wrong?"

"I-I can't do this anymore, Kosuke," she said, choking through her tears.

"It won't be like this for long," Kosuke assured her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I promise. I just need to get a few things together."

"I'm so worried!" Teshima cried. "What if someone…what if Koyanagi-san finds out?"

"Forget about him…" Kosuke told her, breathing into her ear. "You're going to quit soon, anyway, right?"

"A secret relationship!" Sanami told Akira. "Like in all the movies! This is getting juicy!"

"Kosuke…you're the personal assistant of one of the most major business men in Japan," Teshima told him, turning around to face her lover, still wrapped in his arms. "I'm just a simple secretary."

"Oh! She's doubting her worth!" Sanami told Akira. "It's a total Prince falls for Peasant story! I love it!"

"I've told you before…" Kosuke told her. "I love you. You're the most special person in the world to me. I'd drop my job, Matsu'ura-san, everything, for you."

"I'm…I'm not even pretty…" she said, crying again. "Or elegant like the others girls here."

"I think she's pretty," Sanami said to Akira. "Don't you?"

"Yes…" Akira nodded, then stopped himself. "Sanami! We should go! Eavesdropping is tacky!"

"You're beautiful," Kosuke told her warmly, pressing his lips to hers again. They broke and Teshima put her head on Kosuke's shoulder.

"W-What about…Arisa-san? The Cherry Blossom Princess…?"

"What about her?" Kosuke asked, looking into Teshima's eyes and tilted her chin up to face him. "I've got my Princess right here."

"That's so ROMANTIC!" Sanami whispered, hugging Akira's neck and crying. Akira found himself suffocating under Sanami's grip.

"Sanami! L-let go!"

"Kosuke…" Teshima murmured as they broke from their latest kiss. "Kosuke…why…why won't you do what I ask and break up with me?" she was crying again.

"Why don't _you_ break up with _me_?" he asked her softly.

"B-Because I love you!" she told him, throwing her arms around his neck. "You know that!"

"Etsuko…" Kosuke murmured, grasping her in his arms.

"But it just won't work between us…" she told him. "It just can't. Koyanagi-san would get angry if he found out that we were seeing one another. It might affect your work and your future. I couldn't do that to you…"

"Etsuko…what are you saying?" Kosuke asked, pulling her back from him and looking alarmed.

"I can't see you anymore…" she told him, blinking back tears. Kosuke's eyes widened, and Sanami gasped. "I can't see you…knowing that I'm putting your future in jeopardy with my selfish wishes to be with you."

"Etsuko, no!" Kosuke grabbed her arms forcefully. "You're making a mistake!"

"Let me go, Kosuke…" Teshima's voice was cold and firm. Kosuke looked hurt, scared, and desperate. "I have to go…Koyanagi-san is waiting for me." She broke away from Kosuke, who still had his arms in mid-air. "Do me a favor…and go to dinner with Arisa-san. She's…beautiful, you know."

With that, Teshima started to walk straight towards Sanami and Akira. They both gulped and Sanami pointed to the broom closet next to them. She quietly opened the door and they jumped in, shutting the door behind them. Teshima left the room, tears in her eyes.

"E-Etsu…Etsuko…" Kosuke sighed, and dropped his hands and his head. He looked as if he was going to cry.

"Kosuke!"

Kosuke's head snapped up as he saw none other then Sanami and Akira rounding the corner. Akira looked very red as Sanami dragged him along. "Sa-Sanami!" Kosuke gasped. "How long were you listening?"

"Almost the whole time," Sanami told him. "Why in the world is Etsuko breaking up with you? She seems to really be in love with you!"

"Sanami…it's complicated…" Kosuke sighed, picking up his glasses and putting them on. "Koyanagi-san and your father are business partners. Koyanagi-san wants me to marry his daughter to gain connections into the business world. If he found out that I was in love with his secretary…he might take it out on your father, and on me. Demand my dismissal, for instance, as well as Etsuko's."

"But that's got nothing to do with true love!" Sanami interjected, and Kosuke sighed. "You're in love with Etsuko! You should get together with her! Like in all the mangas and stuff!"

"I wish there was a way…" Kosuke shook his head. "But Etsuko is determined. I wish I could just show her how much she means to me."

"She's your whole world, isn't she?" asked Sanami. "Man Kosuke! I never knew you could be so romantic!"

"In fact…" Kosuke frowned, then dug into his pocket. Sanami and Akira gasped as he pulled out a small velvet box and opened it to reveal a sparkling diamond engagement ring. "I…I was going to propose today. I've finally got it all set up. I've got an apartment…big enough for two," Kosuke narrowed his eyes, as if it pained him to say it. He closed the box. "I-I guess I should just put this away."

"No way!" Sanami shook her head. "You're giving that ring to Etsuko! Today!"

"Sanami, it's impossible," said Akira. "Teshima-san has completely decided on not accepting Kosuke."

"Toya-kun is right," Kosuke sighed. "She'd never say yes."

"You're wrong!" Sanami shook her head. "Once she sees that ring, she'll see how important she is to you! All you need is the right mood!"

"And how are we going to get that, Sanami?" Akira asked her, narrowing his eyes. "Don't tell me that you're actually thinking of another crazy scheme?"

"Of course!" Sanami winked. "I've got the perfect plan! And _you're _going to help me!"

"I thought this would happen…"

* * *

"Teshima-san!" Sanami called to the brunette secretary about a half an hour later. She was drinking from a wine glass, looking extremely depressed.

"Sa-Sanami-san?"

"Teshima-san, I'm so glad I found you!" Sanami said, panting hard. "There's an urgent message from Koyanagi-san! He wants you to meet him at the curb right away!"

"The curb?" she asked, widening her eyes. "What for?"

"He said it was really important," Sanami told her. "I'd go if I were you."

"O-of course," Teshima nodded. "I'll be right there!" With that, she turned her back and walked off quickly. Sanami smiled and brought something out from behind her back that looked like a ruffled white dress.

"It's show time."

* * *

Teshima ran down the stairs of the building and headed for the nearest curb. When she arrived, her employer was nowhere in sight. "Ko-Koyanagi-san?"

"Oh! I'm so glad someone's come!"

Teshima turned her head to see none other then a young woman wearing a white frilly dress, high heels, a wide brimmed white hat, and a white mask covering her eyes. She held a parasol in her dainty gloved hands and her white blonde hair was gathered into a bun. "Huh?" Teshima asked, her eyes wide. "Wh-who are you?"

"My name is Clarabelle," the girl said, smiling. "I'm so glad someone can finally see me."

"See you…?" Teshima asked Clarabelle. "What in the world do you mean?"

"I'm a ghost you see," Clarabelle explained. "A spirit, really. I need someone to help me. I've been here since 1865."

"Almost…150 years?" Teshima asked, raising her eyebrows. "Y-Y-You're a ghost?"

"I'm not going to hurt you!" Clarabelle assured her. "I'm just looking for something. Can you please take me there? If I go there…then I go to heaven."

"Wh-where do you need to go?" Teshima asked. "My father always said that spirits were among us…I never thought I'd actually meet one. Why are you wearing a mask?"

"A-All spirits wear masks!" Clarabelle stumbled. "O-Of course! Anyway, I need to find Shumashu Tunnel."

"That's near here!" Teshima told her. "Only about twenty by car!"

"Can you take me there?" Clarabelle asked, then caught herself. "Uhhh! I mean, what's a car?"

"It's a vehicle that will get you there faster then any horse and carriage," Teshima told her. "Come along."

Teshima ushered Clarabelle towards the front of the street into a black car, and Clarabelle sat next to her, fastening her seatbelt with little problems. "I'll get you to Shumashu Tunnel, I promise."

"Thank you," Clarabelle smiled at Teshima as the car started to drive off. "I'm sorry if I'm dragging you from something. But no one has seen me for over 150 years."

"Why can't many people see you?" Teshima asked.

"I only appear to those who are in danger of losing their happiness," Clarabelle smiled at Teshima, and her eyes widened. "You wouldn't happen to be in a situation like that, would you?"

Teshima looked at the road, and then shook her head. "Even…even if I am…my happiness isn't as important to me as what I'm saving."

Clarabelle frowned. "Do you know…why I'm going to Shumashu Tunnel?"

"No…" Teshima shook her head as the car cruised along. "I-I don't."

"You see…I was raised in Japan my whole life," Clarabelle told her. "I was the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner. When I was seventeen years old, I fell deeply in love with a man."

"Y-you did?" Teshima asked, furrowing her eyebrows in concern.

"Yes. His name was Rex…" Clarabelle said dreamily. "We were inseparably, and I was so in love. But…"

"But?"

"We had to keep our relationship a secret," Clarabelle told her. "Our families were rivals, and I knew that it would only cause problems for Rex if we were found out."

"So…you had to meet in secret…" Teshima murmured.

"You sound familiar with the situation," Clarabelle said hastily, and Teshima blushed.

"N-No… Not really. Continue. What happened after that?"

"Soon, I knew that our relationship was a burden to Rex," Clarabelle explained. "I loved him so much that I thought leaving him was the only way to make him truly happy."

"So you left him…?" Teshima asked, her eyes soft.

"Yes," Clarabelle nodded. "The next day…I got news that Rex was dead."

"Dead?" Teshima asked, her eyes wide. "H-How did he die?"

"He threw himself under a train in Shumashu Tunnel," she told Teshima quietly. "He committed suicide out of despair. I remember going to the Tunnel to pay my last respects."

"How horrible…" Teshimura murmured.

"I died only a few weeks later of a broken heart…" Clarabelle told her. "Rex was the only man I ever loved."

"Why would you want to go back to the place where your lover committed suicide?" Teshima asked. "It seems so sad."

"They say…that if you propose marriage to someone in Shumashu Tunnel, you'll be together forever," Clarabelle said, smiling. "That's why I need to go. Perhaps…Rex's spirit will still be there, and we can finally rest together and be together forever."

"We're here!" Teshima announced, surprised herself as they came upon the train tracks. The tunnel could be seen in the distance. "There are no trains running this route today. Let's go! We need to find Rex."

It had been around ten minutes to the tunnel by walking, but Clarabelle remained standing straight, her parasol in hand. Finally, they reached the mouth of the dark tunnel, and Clarabelle put out her arm to stop Teshima. "I'll go in first. I need to find Rex."

Clarabelle walked into the tunnel, and slowly, Teshima followed. She gasped as she saw a young man standing in the tunnel, wearing a black suit with a bow tie and a black cowboy hat. He also wore a black mask and his hair was black and cut to just above his shoulders. When Clarabelle saw him, she gasped and ran to the man, throwing her arms around him. "Rex! Oh Rex, you're here! I've been waiting for this day for so long!"

"I have too, Clarabelle," Rex said, smiling at her. He kneeled, and Teshima gasped as he pulled out a sparkling ring. "Will you marry me Clarabelle?"

"Of course!" Clarabelle cried, grabbing Rex's neck and embracing him. "Oh Rex! Let's never let anything come between us again! I'm so sorry that I ever doubted our love!"

"Is this the young woman that brought you here?" Rex asked, nodding towards Teshima. Clarabelle nodded and Rex turned to her. "Don't make the same mistake we did. If you ever find your true love, remember that your life is a precious thing. You have to spend it with the right person. You're only hurting yourself and your love by letting your doubt get in the way."

Teshima's eyes widened, and tears started to fill them. "Yes," she nodded. "Yes, I understand."

"Good…" Rex smiled and then grabbed Clarabelle's hand. "We'll be going now."

With that, Rex and Clarabelle walked into the tunnel, the blackness of the interior shadowing them from view. Teshima sighed contentedly and blinked back her tears. "I-I have to get back! Tell Kosuke about what's happened!"

"Etsuko!"

Teshima looked up, her eyes wide. Coming from the end of the tunnel was none other then Kosuke, his hair still a mess, his glasses still foggy. He was running towards her, and she ran towards him. They met and embraced one another. "Kosuke! Oh Kosuke!"

"Etsuko…"

"Kosuke…I'm so sorry for what I said…" Etsuko cried. "Clarabelle and Rex showed me how wrong I really was."

"N-no kidding…" Kosuke murmured under his breath. "I mean…Rex led me here too. Etsuko…"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" Etsuko cried into Kosuke's chest, embracing him fiercely. "Oh Kosuke…even if our relationship is a burden, I know that we'll make it through because we love each other!"

"Of course," Kosuke murmured, stroking Etsuko's hair, smiling warmly. "Etsuko…?"

"Y-yes?" Etsuko asked, looking up. Her eyes widened and Kosuke fell to his knee and pulled out the velvet box from his back pocket. He held it up to her and opened it to reveal the engagement ring. "Kosuke!"

"Etsuko Teshima…" Kosuke breathed. "Will you…will you grant me the happiness of a lifetime and consent to be my wife?"

Etsuko began to cry buckets of tears and she nodded weakly. "Of course I will…"

Kosuke rose to his feet and kissed Etsuko passionately right there in the tunnel. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, tears still running down her cheeks. It truly was a happy ending for the two of them.

Meanwhile…

"I knew our plan would work!" Sanami grinned, taking off her mask and hat. She undid her bun and shook her hair out.

"This is ridiculous…" Akira sighed, taking off his hat and mask. "Where did you get these costumes on such short notice?"

"I had the driver go out and buy them from the costume place nearby," Sanami smiled. "I got the idea from that film I saw last month. _Gone with the Wind_, I think."

"_Gone with the Wind?_" Akira asked warily. "Sanami…that was poor model."

"What for?" Sanami frowned. "It took place during the mid 1800's, right? My dress looks almost exactly like Scarlet's! And I got your name from Ret Butler! See? My researching is great!"

"Sanami! That's a foreign film! It takes place in America!"

"Huh?" Sanami asked, raising an eyebrow. "No kidding?"

"Something has been bothering me…" the two heard Teshima say. "Why were Rex and Clarabelle dressed like that when they were born in Japan?"

Sanami gulped and Akira sighed, shaking his head.

"And what about their names? They sounded foreign too."

Sanami facefaulted and Akira looked at her with an "I told you so" look.

"And most of all…" Teshima said, narrowing her eyes. "Shumashu Tunnel wasn't even built until 1984."

"ACK!" Sanami gasped.

"Sanami! You idiot! How could you make such a blatant mistake?" Akira snapped. "If you're going to come up with an elaborate plan like this, at least be accurate!"

"I'm sorry!" Sanami cried, running through the tunnel to meet up with the couple. Akira followed her, looking very red in the face. Sanami bowed to Teshima apologetically. "Sorry! I know we tricked you, but it was just to get you and Kosuke back together!"

"I do apologize…" Kosuke sighed. "Sanami insisted."

"I don't mind," Etsuko smiled, hugging Kosuke and closing her eyes serenely. "I don't mind at all…I'm back with my beloved Kosuke. That's all that matters."

"Yeah…" Sanami smiled. "This is quite the happy ending!"

* * *

"What is the meaning of this Teshima?"

The group had arrived back at the party, and immediately everyone was drawn to the ruffled looking Kosuke and Etsuko holding hands. A single glance at Etsuko's left ring finger was enough to tell the story. Koyanagi-san was the first to object. "Are you saying that you're engaged to Shibahime-kun?"

"Yes," Etsuko smiled at Kosuke, who smiled back. "I'm going to be Etsuko Shibahime soon. Kosuke and I have been seeing each other for a while."

"Th-this is an outrage!" Koyanagi exclaimed, becoming very red in the face. "Don't expect to get away with your job, Teshima!"

"Actually sir, I came to quit," Etsuko snapped, smiling triumphantly at her former employer. "I'm going to become a teacher after Kosuke and I get married. I never liked this work anyway."

"Shibahime!" Koyanagi, knowing he had lost the battle with Teshima, rounded on Kosuke. "I'll talk to Matsu'ura-san about this! Don't expect that there won't be repercussions for these actions!"

"I know the consequences for my actions, sir," Kosuke said simply. "And I'm willing to accept them. I'm also willing to accept the consequences for the following…" he cleared his throat. "I've been seeing Etsuko behind your back for a long time. You're a complete idiot not to have realized it. Matsu'ura-san hates your development team and is getting rid of it as soon as possible. Also, your wife is an old gossip and really should lay off the five layers of eyeshadow."

"I've never been so insulted in my life!" Koyanagi exclaimed, a vein bulging in his head. "I'll have your head for this, Shibahime!"

"I'm sorry sir," Kosuke smiled at Etsuko. "But I'm afraid my head and the rest of my body all belong to Etsuko now."

The two kissed, and many people in the back cheered, making Koyanagi and his wife even angrier. Sanami and Akira cheered as well, that is Sanami jumped up and down and Akira clapped.

"So glad it turned out this way!" Sanami sighed to herself. "They're so perfect together, don't you think?"

"Yes," Akira nodded. "Sanami…can we take off these costumes now? I feel ridiculous."

"Whatever," Sanami grinned, then looked down at her hand. "Hey…" she grinned at Akira and held up her hand. "You proposed to me, remember? And in Shumashu Tunnel! You know what they say! If you propose marriage to someone in Shumashu Tunnel, you'll be together forever!"

"That ring is made of plastic!" Akira snapped, blushing crimson. "And I didn't propose to you!"

"Ha ha! The ring says different!" Sanami grinned, running up the stairs. "Uh oh! You've got a runaway bride on your hands, Akira! I'd catch me before I start shouting it out!"

"SANAMI!" Akira shouted. "You come back here right now!"

Akira chased after Sanami, who held up the trail of her dress as she ran away. Akira gritted his teeth, a blush on his face, and ran as fast as he could. "Sanami! Get back here now!"

* * *

"I love this apartment Kosuke…it must have cost a lot."

"I love you more," Kosuke murmured, kissing his fiancee's head as the two lay in bed, embracing one another. Suddenly, the phone rang and Etsuko pouted. Kosuke rolled his eyes and got up from bed, grabbing his robe and throwing it on his shoulders.

"Who would be calling this late…?" Etsuko asked, looking at the clock that read "23:37".

"It's probably Matsu'ura-san from overseas," he told her. "I'll be quick." He gave her a quick kiss and walked over to the phone. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Kosuke. I just received a rather angry phone message from Koyanagi. Says that you're now engaged to his secretary and he wants you fired."

"Yes sir."

"You got engaged? And you didn't even call me? Who's the lucky girl?"

"Etsuko Teshima," he told him, smiling. "But I'm a little surprised, sir. You're not angry?"

"Of course not," Gosho remarked over the phone, his voice still rough. "Getting engaged is nothing to be upset over."

"Did the message say anything else?"

"Oh yes…that you directly insulted him in public."

There was a silence.

"Good show. I always hated that idiot. Now he knows his place."

"I'm happy to hear you say that sir," Kosuke smiled.

"Anyway, I'll let you get back to your fiancée. You two are probably together, am I right?"

"Yes," Kosuke smiled, looking over at Etsuko. "Sir…when are you returning from England?"

"Next Sunday," he told Kosuke. "But I have another flight Monday afternoon for New York. I'll only be gone for a few days."

"Sir…" Kosuke murmured. "Can't you postpone the flight to New York?"

"It's an important matter of business, Kosuke. Why do you want me to postpone?"

"It's Sanami… Sir, she hasn't seen you in nearly a month."

"Sanami's an independent girl," Gosho said. "She's fine, isn't she?"

"She's the reason I'm engaged right now," Kosuke said firmly. "Sir, because of what Sanami did for me, I think I need to say this for her. She needs you, Sir. You've been away too long."

There was a silence. "You're overstepping your boundaries Kosuke. Get back to your fiancée before I decide to really fire you."

Kosuke knew that Gosho as joking, but he sighed, and nodded. "Yes sir. I'll see you next Sunday Matsu'ura-san."

"Goodbye Kosuke."

"Goodbye Matsu'ura-san." With that, Kosuke hung up the phone, an image of Sanami and Akira flashing through his find. "Sanami…I did my best."

* * *

The End of that chapter! Such a long one! I hope you all enjoyed it! This one made me crack up a little bit! Please review!

Until then,

Ciao for now!


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